Short of a Dark Lord
by Sylvia1
Summary: The school is dressing up for the Hogwarts Halloween party, and Sirius has a great idea on how to pull a frightening prank on his classmates. Featuring James, Sirius, Remus, Peter, Severus, Regulus, Lucius, and Narcissa. Now complete!
1. A Dangerous Game

Chapter 1: A Dangerous Game

The warm glow of the firelight flickered off the brilliant ruby and golden furniture of the Gryffindor common room. Outside the sun was just beginning to touch the topmost limbs of the Forbidden Forest, turning the trees a fiery orange as the last few minutes of the day came to a close. Pacing back and forth, a tall, lanky boy with large round-rimmed glasses looked nervously at his watch. He raked a hand through his mussed hair and shot an annoyed look up at the boys' quarters again before resuming his pacing. It'd been going on for a good half hour, and Remus thought he could see the trail of matted carpet under James' feet.

"Um, maybe he got stuck?" an anxious little boy squeaked from the couch on the other side of the room. His wide eyes followed the taller boy nervously, his brow furrowed with worry. As James had gotten progressively angrier, Peter had moved farther away from him as though preparing for an explosion

James glared at him. "I've never known him to take this long to get ready."

"Well, it is entirely possible," Remus cleared his throat. "I mean you remember what he wore last year. It took the two of us to help him get out of it, the damn thing was so tight."

"Yes, but he said it'd be different this time." Peter frowned.

"Where the hell is he?" James ruffled his hair in exasperation, "I swear if he takes five more minutes I'm going to drag him out here even if he's in nothing but his skivvies!" He looked down at his watch again, grunting in agitation when he realized they were already half an hour late.

Remus gave a heavy sigh, deciding that it was probably best to let them sort this out on their own. If he'd learned anything over the past few years, it was that Sirius and James had bad enough fights without anyone getting in the middle. He leaned down again to a mirror on the table, trying to figure out exactly how large his incisors should be.

Peter's eyes darted swiftly between the two boys; he never could stand it when any of them fought, but Sirius and James were always the worst. "You know how Sirius is," he laughed nervously. "He always likes to make an entrance."

James resumed his pacing, more vigorously this time as though he thought that moving faster would make Sirius do the same. The sun had slipped almost halfway down the horizon. The sky was becoming much darker, and a few stars were slowly appearing in the twilight. Remus smiled proudly as he fixed the final tooth. In a way he was rather glad to have had the extra time to get ready. A vampire had to have two fangs after all and they had to be proportional. He heard James start muttering on the other side of the room, and rolled his eyes in annoyance. Peter shifted uncomfortably, his eyes darting up to the closed and silent door to their shared bedroom.

"Well, Peter, you certainly look great." Remus smiled. "Your mane's a bit tremendous though." He flicked his wand and reduced the size of his lion mane down to where it wouldn't impede eating. "There you go."

"Thanks, Remus. You know I actually wasn't dressing up for Gryffindor. That's the funny part. Really I'm the Cowardly –"

"Thanks a lot, Sirius!" James roared up the stairway, causing them both to jump. "The entire year, this is all I asked for out of you: just to help me out so I could see Lily at the dance." He pointed an accusatory finger at the sinister bedroom door. "For all I know, Lily could be dancing with Snivellus right now!"

"Honestly, James." Remus sighed stretching out on one of the loveseats, "He wouldn't listen to you even if he did hear you. Best save your breath."

"Remus is right, James. We could always head out and let him catch up with us?"

"No, that's not part of the deal! He said he'd get me a kiss with Lily tonight!"

Remus tried to choke back a chuckle, "And you bought that?"

"Well—I didn't—I thought my own _friend_ wouldn't outright _lie_ to me!"

Remus sighed, clasping his hands. This simply wasn't a battle he could win.

"It's alright, really James," Peter hopped up. "Want me to check up on him?"

James sighed, placing a hand on his forehead and flopping down onto the couch. "I don't give a damn, just make it quick." Peter nodded happily and hurried up the steps to the boys rooms.

"Calm down, James," Remus turned to look at his friend. "Tell me, how do they look?" He opened his mouth in a toothy lopsided grin.

James snickered, "They look fine, Moony. But honestly I think you'd be better off going as a werewolf." James smiled as Remus' grin melted into a glare almost reminiscent of Snape. "You'd hardly have to change much!"

"Well, at least I'm dressing up as something frightening for the All Hallow's Ball. What are you supposed to be, Prongs? A waiter?"

"Haha – I'm glad you asked that, Moony! Glad indeed!" James stood up, coming to attention before bowing deeply, swinging his feathered hat out with flourish. "I am the famed Lancelot, my dear friend." He came up from the bow, a red rose clutched in his opposite hand. "And with this getup Lily won't be able to resist me!"

"Lancelot? Seriously?" Remus smiled, "Wasn't he a bit of a prick, James?"

"Nonsense! He was one of the greatest minds of his time! Greater even than King Arthur – hence he gets the lady, if you get what I mean?"

Remus laughed, "Whatever you say…" Remus' voice broke off as the fireplace started to dim down to an ember, the light slowly leaving the room. "… Prongs?"

James flicked out his wand, his eyes narrowed. "This has got to be the Slytherins doing! But how did they get past the Fat Lady?"

Remus was also on his feet, his wand at the ready as he backed toward the wall. Out of the corner of his eye he saw movement behind James. "Jamie, watch out!"

James turned to look in Remus' direction when a pale, clammy hand landed upon his shoulder with such force that it caused him to jump. The whisper was close enough that he could feel the breath on the back of his neck.

"Fear me, you fools!" The voice was raspy and thin, "For I am – the Dark Lord!"

James spun around at the sound, letting out a squeal of panic. Before him stood the tall, dark-haired man dressed in long, silky black robes. His eyes were a bright red and his pale skin glowed in the firelight.

"V-v-v-" Peter sputtered helplessly from his perch atop the stairway. Remus gasped, holding his wand shakily in front of him. James swallowed, his eyes narrowed as he took a tentative step forward.

"Sirius…?" He paused to keep his voice steady. "Is that you?"

The tall dark figure started to shake, the cloth of the black cloak rippling in waves. Then his penetrating gaze looked away as the hissing of laughter slowly melted into the familiar howls of Sirius Black. "You guys should've seen the look on your faces!" Sirius cawed.

James looked like a disheveled bird, his hair perking up in all directions. His eyes were fixed on his friend through thick round glasses in adamant adoration. "Sirius! That is absolutely the best Halloween costume I've ever seen!" He rushed over, picking up the long tendrils of cloth in amazement. "How the hell did you get the shadows to cling to it so well?"

Sirius wiped away a tear, "Aw no big deal, just borrowed it from my mom. She'll never miss it anyway; it's been locked up in one of those giant cabinets of hers. Took me weeks to break the charm on it! Don't know why the heck she wanted to keep a thing like this around anyway, it's so damn ugly!" James dragged Sirius over to the fireplace, flicking his wand to bring the flames to life again to examine the cloak closer. The firelight flicked across his hands, but the cloak seemed to soak up the light around it. Even when he placed the cloak as close to the flames as he could, he still couldn't see where the cloth ended and the shadows began.

"Must be from when Grindelwald was around…"

"Yea, must be." Sirius pulled the hood back over his head, drenching his face in shadow again. "So, who's ready to frighten some hapless first years?"

Peter crept forward slowly, poking his head through the stairway banister nervously. "So you're – you're not – _You Know Who_?" His lower lip trembled, his eyes wide in disbelief. Sirius shook his head as laughter swept through him again. This time James joined in too, a large, toothy grin plastered on his face. His eyes were wide, and although he was looking at Sirius, he wasn't seeing him as much as the possibilities at hand.

Lupin studied them both with obvious annoyance, watching James in particular with growing suspicion. "I'm sure there is some Hogwarts decree that prevents you from impersonating a Dark Lord…"

"Ha! Just you try and name it, Moony. If it's not on the books, it doesn't count now, does it?" Sirius smirked, "You think Dumbledore would really have the balls to make one?"

"Well, he might after tonight!"

"Aw, come on, Moony. I'm just going to the dance, not running around killing muggles or anything."

"Still, the professors won't like it." Remus looked him up and down, studying him. "I'd be surprised if they let you stay there ten minutes dressed like that."

Sirius blinked, looking down at his robes and wondering if Remus had a point. Even if Dumbledore wasn't out the dance, there would definitely be professors lurking about. Filch too would definitely be patrolling the halls.

"No sweat, Padfoot." James grinned, pushing his glasses up as his devious mind churned. "Leave it to me and I'll make sure you're able to get in. Wouldn't want you to waste an outfit like that!"

"You think we can, Jamie?"

"Of course we can! Come on, have I ever let you down?"

"Well I'm not getting involved with it," Remus sat down on the loveseat again. "We'll just end up getting detention with Slughorn again and I'm not about to sit around for two weekends trying to figure out ways to clean silver teapots again. That was bad enough the first time."

"But Moony, don't you want to see the look on their faces when they see the Dark Lord step onto the dance floor?" Sirius started dancing in place, his swirling black cape mingling with his moves making him appear almost like a moving shadow.

"Well, there's no way that Snape would ever try to jinx you with that on, Sirius." Peter chipped in, "In fact, you might have the Slytherins following your every word!"

Sirius' grin widened at the thought of it, his red eyes gleaming in the firelight. "Oh man, you really think so?"

James flung an arm around Sirius' shoulders and started leading him to the doorway. "Just leave it to me, Sirius. If you want to be the Dark Lord for a day, who the hell am I to stop you?" Peter ran after them, and after a moment Remus sighed and got to his feet, following them out. Somehow he knew this was going to lead to trouble. And if it did, he wanted to be there to at least try to keep things under control. After all, if anyone could turn a dance into a prank to be remembered, it was James Potter and Sirius Black.


	2. In Matters of Love

Chapter 2: In Matters of Love

The dance had been quite boring from the start. Severus had made sure he'd arrived promptly at ten before the hour to make sure he was here to escort Lily to a table. He had to make sure he arrived before that blasted Potter showed up, ruining everything like he was always so fond of doing. His finger made lazy circles as Severus stirred his watered down drink.

Across the room all the chipper little partners had already made their way onto the dance floor of the Great Hall. In the distance he could see Lucius and Narcissa slowly making their way around the dance floor, beaming at each other and practically gleaming in the softly lit room. The ceiling above was filled with evening stars, and the edges were filled with the vague rosy hue of sunset. It might have been beautiful if Snape cared to notice it.

At the moment he felt very much the fool. She'd wanted to meet in the lobby just as the dance began, and so he'd waited around, nervously fidgeting for nearly half an hour. At that point he'd decided to get a table and just be patient. He'd been certain she would sweep in, give some excuse for not being on time, and then start searching the crowds for Potter…

He sighed. That was half an hour ago. It was obvious he'd been stood up, but while there was still even the smallest chance she'd appear, he had to hope she would.

Next year his friends Lucius and Narcissa would be gone, off to get married and produce children probably. They seemed the type. That would mean Severus would be stuck here. Alone. With a scornful Lily and that bastard Potter. Could life possibly get any more miserable?

"That glass looks all used up," The smooth, silky voice of Regulus sounded from beside him. Severus looked up, surprised that he'd been so wrapped up in his own thoughts again to not notice someone sit down next to him. "Allow me," Regulus flicked his wand and Snape's cup refilled itself. Severus smirked; it was always the little things at Hogwarts that threw him off. Magic hastily cast without a care. It was his third year at the school and he was still getting used to it. Growing up with his Muggle father who was so fearful of magic made the casual atmosphere at Hogwarts a bit difficult to grasp.

Regulus nodded up at Lucius and Narcissa in the distance. "Can you believe those two? They've been up there nearly an hour now. You'd think their feet would get tired at some point." The black-haired boy leaned back in the chair next to Snape, placing a foot up on the table and propping his chair back. A familiar sheepish smile fell across his face – apparently that was a Black family tradition. Sometimes the two brothers looked far too similar for Severus' tastes. Indeed, Regulus was only a first year and was quite pleased to make his presence known wherever he went.

"I take it you haven't moved from this spot, eh?" Regulus' dark eyes watched him carefully. Severus' silence prompted Regulus to continue, his knowing eyes narrowed. "You're waiting for that Evans girl. Hmph. You know she stood you up. Honestly, she's a _Gryffindor_. What did you expect?"

Severus sighed. As much as he'd like to get angry at Regulus' comments, he had to agree with him. "Regulus..." He trailed off. It would do no good to try to explain anything to the boy. He wouldn't understand anyway. "Did you have something to tell me?"

Regulus blinked for a moment before rocking himself back and forth on the two chair legs. He looked suddenly uncomfortable. "Um… I just thought I'd see how you were doing. You looked like you could use some cheering up." He looked up to the confused expression on Severus' face. "And a fresh drink, of course." The sheepish smile came back again, and Severus rolled his eyes.

Severus stared again across the dance floor, "I take it you've heard about Lucius' plan?"

"Nope, not a bit of it." Regulus took a long swig from his drink. "Anything I need to know about?"

"Mmm, possibly." Severus placed the tips of his fingers together. "Lucius plans to propose to Narcissa at some point during the Ball."

Regulus grinned. "Oh seriously? Hey, go Malfoy! Always moving up, isn't he? He doesn't just graduate, he has to catch my cute little cousin too. She's one lucky girl!" He smiled over at the tall blonde appreciatively.

Severus gave him a sidelong glance before focusing on stirring his now filled cup again. Regulus just stared at him, rocking back and forth on his chair legs. The squeaking noise was driving him nuts, and he could feel the boy's eyes on him. What was he playing at? "For Merlin's sake, Regulus – what is it?"

Regulus froze in mid squeak, his eyes wide. "I was… um… wondering what your outfit was." His face was flushed as Severus' gaze pierced through him.

"Zorro." Severus muttered.

Silence.

"Um, what? I didn't catch that."

Severus sighed. "Zor-ro."

"What's a Zor-ro?"

"Dresses in black? Wears a mask? Kills people with a sword? Battles injustice? Zorro?"

Regulus paused for a moment, putting a finger to his nose. "Nope, never heard of him. Is he muggle or something?"

"Dammit, Regulus!" Severus spat, "Can't you go bug Rodolphus or Bellatrix or something?"

"Um sure, I _could_ do that…" he flashed another pompous smile at Severus. "But then I wouldn't be hanging around you, now would I?"

Severus turned to glare at the annoying first-year, when he noticed Lucius and Narcissa heading their way. Lucius' pointed green hat was tilted a bit on top of his golden hair which was pulled back into a ponytail. His forest green tights fit with a leather tunic hardened his fair features, making him look like he could hold his own in a fist fight. He scoffed, knowing better. For all of Lucius' talk and veiled threats, he relied on Severus to back up his wishes. And after all the things Lucius had done for him over the years, how could he refuse? Not only had he accepted him even with his partially muggle heritage, he'd even accompanied him home a couple of times. Granted the visits didn't go particularly well but still, not even Lily would visit and she lived just down the street.

And then there was Narcissa, Lucius' pride and joy as of late. How Severus envied their happiness! She was beside her boyfriend, her arm looped with his. Narcissa was wearing a sleek baby blue medieval dress that looked surprisingly authentic to Severus' keen eyes. He had to wonder if this was some ancient treasure passed down in the Black family. Then he shook his head. This was Narcissa. He truly doubted she'd waste the time to hunt something like that down. She leaned in and kissed Lucius'cheek before heading off in the direction of the lavatories.

Regulus nodded, a smirk pulling at his lips. "You're a brave man, Lucius."

Lucius pulled up a chair, raising a slim eyebrow. "Pardon me?"

Regulus glanced downwards at Lucius' legs, his smile widening. "Those tights." He hissed through his teeth. "Brave man…"

Lucius grinned, "Yes, well. The things you'll do for love – eh, Severus?" He chuckled, but then his smile melted into something akin to understanding as he glanced at his brooding friend. Severus averted his eyes.

"You really are pining for the girl, aren't you?"

Severus clenched his jaw. Why was everyone so interested in his love life suddenly?

Regulus started rocking his chair again. "Heh, that's exactly what I told him. He needs to just get over it. I mean honestly, there are other people out there…"

Lucius gave Regulus a bemused expression before turning his attention back to Severus. "Come now, Severus, you could at least try to be a little happy. I mean honestly, just because the girl's an idiot doesn't mean you should wallow in your depression." He gestured towards him in frustration. "I mean goodness, Severus, look at your outfit: All black again? Surely your wardrobe has some color in it, at least for a festive occasion."

Severus gritted his teeth. "It's part of the costume…"

"Yes, of course it is." Lucius turned his gaze back to Regulus. "And you must be…"

Regulus pulled on the Black smile again, dropping his other leg onto the table with a thud. Severus now noticed that it was in fact a peg leg. He blinked in fascination. How did a first year know how to do that? Hell, he didn't even know, and he'd read the textbooks inside and out!

"Aye be a pirate, matey!" He put his elbows out to the side, as though that instantly gave him a pirate appearance, his white poet's shirt bunching in the arms. "An' I be-a searchin' for some grub!"

Lucius looked unimpressed. "Yes, well that's very… quaint, Regulus."

"Fabulous piece of work on that leg, Regulus." Severus leaned over it, dragging his fingers over the wood. He didn't notice the blush that came over the boy's face.

"It's, um, useful when trying to look like a cripple." He gave a sheepish grin.

Severus raised an eyebrow. "Your mother taught this to you, didn't she?" Regulus nodded, pulling his peg leg off the table. "You'll have to teach it to me then. That could be an invaluable spell!"

Severus was as close to giddy as he could get. Lucius found it a bit unnerving. "Did you notice Narcissa? She's my Maid Mariam."

Severus snorted. "You two are coordinating your outfits and you're not even engaged yet, Lucius. Eager for that ball and chain, are you?"

"Ball and chain? What are you talking about?"

"I mean you're trying to shackle yourself to her and you're still a year away from graduating! Don't you think you're being a little hasty?"

"Hardly." He soothed. "I mean, just look at her."

Lucius motioned across the other side of the Hall. Huddled in a small group, Bellatrix and Narcissa were chattering and laughing, loud enough that Bella's howls of laughter could be heard even from this distance. Rodolphus, who was arm in arm with Bella, looked more like a caged animal than a boyfriend.

"Oh dear, it looks like the Black sisters have captured poor Rodolphus." Lucius drawled. "Looks like I'll need to rescue him." He stood to leave, but then turned again to Severus, his voice lowering. "I take it you have informed him of my intentions this evening?"

Severus nodded shortly. "Yes of course, Lucius."

"And?"

"And we'll be keeping an eye out for the Marauders," Severus turned to elbow the pirate. "Won't we, Regulus?"

Regalus flung his arms out to his sides to keep from falling backwards. "Whoa-! What?" He blinked in confusion between the two boys, he'd been far too engrossed in watching the dance.

"The engagement?"

Regulus blinked. "Yeah, what about it?"

"The Marauders?" Severus growled.

"Oh yeah! We'll watch out for them, no worries! There's no way they can crash this party."

Lucius nodded in satisfaction. He locked eyes with Severus shortly before heading over to the Black sisters.

Severus stretched his arms into the air, his shoulders popping from brooding for too long – if that were possible. "Finally, some excitement."

"What do you mean?" Regulus took a long sip of his drink.

Severus stood and stealthily pulled his wand out of his pocket. "Come along. It's time to get to work."

"Work?"

"Yes. The Marauders are certainly up to something. I haven't seen them all evening, have you?" Regulus was clearly just as hard-headed as his older brother.

"Um no, but…"

"Then come along. This requires further investigating. Surely you'll appreciate a good duel. Especially when you're brother's the target."

Regulus sighed, standing up slowly. "Yeah, yeah. I'm coming. Sheesh, we can't even enjoy the party."

Severus clutched the smooth wood of his wand. After sitting around waiting for his wretched Lily to appear, a fight was just the thing to get him interested. This party might not be so dull after all.


	3. Preparations

Note: Ah-hah! Finally got section breaks to work in this document. Probably will go back and update the last two chapters to make sure those show up okay. Oh FFnet, removing my formatting. *facepalm* On another note, I'm glad folks are enjoying this! Please feel free to leave a review if you'd like. We writers love those. =)

Chapter 3: Preparations

Peter was very good at being a rat, or at least he liked to think so. He was very good at sneaking around corners, sniffing out danger, and scoping out rooms. He was always the scout for the Marauders, and save for a few close encounters with some mouse traps, he loved his work. Sneaking was one of the few things he excelled at, and he scurried so quickly from shadow to shadow that he was barely seen. Perhaps he wasn't quite as invisible as James could be in his cloak, but since he wasn't limited by size, his skills were far more flexible. Moving with rodent quickness, he reached the edge of the Grand Staircase, and peeked a whiskered nose over to see what he could find. Beneath him flights of stairs swung back and forth like a lazy, unorganized windmill, and try as he might he simply couldn't make out any signs of life. Then, just as he was about to give the Marauders the all-clear, he spotted movement. It was hard to make out between the weaving and wobbling of the staircase railings, but he would recognize that patch of mangy brown fur anywhere.

That fur belonged to Mrs. Norris, one of the surliest cats Peter had ever encountered. He'd been chased by her so much his first few months of being an animagus that he'd started having nightmares about it. He backed up from the stairway as quickly as possible, his tiny claws scratching at the stone floor. It took him a moment to catch his breath. Then he headed back to inform the others.

The three were down the hall closer to the portrait for the Fat Lady, staying in the shadows for fear of being seen. "Okay, okay, how does this one look?" Sirius whispered to the others, then opened his red eyes wide, sticking his nose into the air and glaring down at them.

"That one's definitely creepy," Remus admitted. "But I really don't want to make them piss themselves when you show up…"

"You really think they'd be scared of that?" James laughed, "He looks like an Azkaban mugshot! You know how those arrogant pricks pose as they're sent off."

"Hey Jamie, if anyone's an arrogant prick here, you'd be it!" Sirius laughed.

"Guys, guys, we can't go that way," Peter whispered as he came back to his human form. "Filch is down there patrolling around the entrance to the Great Hall!"

"Damn…" James sighed, his mind going to work. "Then we'll have to find another way."

"You know, I didn't really think they'd let us through the front entrance, did you?" Sirius laughed.

"If Filch is patrolling then that must mean the professors are at the dance," Remus said.

Sirius sighed, "You know this would be a lot easier if we had the map…" His red glowing eyes fell on Peter. "Too bad Mr. Wormy here lost it!"

Peter gulped then inched closer to James. "Don't start this again," James sighed, putting two fingers to his forehead in frustration. "Does it really matter who lost it? As far as I'm concerned, we can do just fine without it!"

"But – how do you lose something like that! It's not like it's a term paper or something, that thing took us months to-"

"Keep your voices down," Remus shushed, slipping down the Charms hallway ahead of them. "We can take the Charms portrait shortcut to get there. It'll be faster and they might not be expecting it."

"Might not?" Peter moaned.

"Pete's right." Sirius took up the rear, keeping his voice low. "We don't know that for sure, guys. And I really don't want this outfit wasted in detention."

James stopped and turned around, his glasses gleaming in the candlelight. "Look, I'm the one who can't afford to let this night be ruined. Let me handle the details of getting us to the dance, agreed?"

Peter smiled, nodding enthusiastically.

Sirius crossed his arms. "Alright, Jamie. But you better make good on that promise!"

James turned back to the front of the line, "Remus?"

Remus glared at the entire group, his fangs poking out slightly from behind his frown. "I still think this is a horrible idea, but I'm not too keen on going to detention with Filch. I'm seeing this as the lesser of two evils."

"You mean two punishments, right?" James put an arm around his friend as they made their way down the hallway. "Moony, you're awesome. Have I told you that recently?" Remus merely rolled his eyes.

A few moments later, they came to a halt a few paces before the Charms door which was slightly ajar. The four exchanged looks for a moment; Peter crouched down to start transforming, but James placed a hand on his shoulder and shook his head. Then with a smile plastered on his face and a tip of his feathery hat, he elbowed the door to Charms class wide open.

"Professor Flitwick?" He called out. "Are you in here?"

Remus let out a groan. He had no clue whatsoever as to what James' plan was here. If he could make a guess, he was trying to make as big an ass of himself as possible. Was this his idea of being stealthy? He looked over his shoulder to see Sirius looked about as shocked as he was. He mouthed at Remus, "What is he doing?"

Remus sighed, and kept his wand at the ready.

* * *

James sauntered into the Charms classroom without much worry. If there was some problem with him roaming around the corridors this late at night, he could make up some excuse. The room was completely dark, but as his footsteps echoed off the walls of the classroom he thought he heard a chair squeak across the floor.

"Professor Flitwick? Are you in here?"

From out of the back corridor arose a shadowy figure, and slowly it moved forward. He was taller than Flitwick, and James got his wand at the ready just to be safe.

"Identify yourself!" He called out.

With a hefty sigh, Dirk Cresswell walked forward, smoothing his robes down conspicuously. "Potter? What the hell, mate. Do you mind?"

From behind him a female voice floated out, "What's going on, Dirk?"

"Sorry, Dirk. I didn't know!" The laughter started bubbling out of him and he turned to leave so Dirk couldn't see it. "You know you ought to not keep the door wide open inviting spectators when you two get frisky like that!"

"Why you little..!" Dirk flicked his wand out, "_Melofors!_"

James was about to head out the doorway when his entire head was suddenly covered with a large, well-proportioned pumpkin. He struggled to regain his balance to accommodate the extra weight and ended up knocking his head into the door before falling down to the ground with an undignified, "Mmph!"

Dirk's laughter echoed off the classroom walls as he headed back inside. Remus poked his head around the corner, and on seeing Jamie's pathetic state decided that it would be best just to drag him out than to let Peter and Sirius take shots at Dirk. Sadly, James' head got stuck between the half ajar door and the doorframe.

"Oops, sorry James!" Remus whispered, finally dragging the boy into the hallway. He looked worriedly at Sirius. He was the reactionary member of the group, and if he flew off the handle at this they could be here all night.

But as soon as Sirius saw the size of the pumpkin on James' head and the tiny trail of pumpkin juice that he'd made on the ground, he started laughing like crazy. His black shadowy aura billowed each time he tried to gasp for breath, which made it difficult to pull the pumpkin pieces off of James's head.

"I told you I could handle it," James grinned, his face covered with pumpkin seeds.

Remus chuckled as he pulled the glasses off James' head and started cleaning them, "Yeah you had that well under control."

Sirius pulled him to his feet. "You know, that thing looked pretty good on you actually. Might just make your outfit," he added with a grin.

James rolled his eyes at him. "I don't think I'll want any pumpkin juice for a while."

Peter simply couldn't wipe the toothy grin off his face as he started trying to clean up the rest of the orange mess with a few well-placed cleaning charms.

James took back the glasses from Remus, replacing them on his nose. He turned to head down the hallway, finally reaching the portrait shortcut Remus had mentioned earlier. He shook his shaggy head, "Damn, I'll have to use that one on Snivellus next I see him!"

* * *

"So um, is this the fighting you had in mind?" Regulus grinned, following Severus closely, his wand twirling lazily in his fingertips. With each step his peg leg made a _thump_ that echoed off the castle walls quite nicely.

He looked to his sullen friend, who seemed to have lost a variety of facial expressions since they'd left the ball. In fact, his face had remained so stony that Regulus was wondering if he was listening at all.

"Where do you think they'll be coming from?" He knew the questions weren't getting him anywhere, but he still had to ask. They had left the dance via the side door instead of the main entrance. It wasn't a big deal, but Regulus was kind of hoping to get some more compliments on his peg leg before the night was over.

Silence, not that Regulus was very surprised. The man avoided conversation even on his rare talkative days. Still he had to admit that he was rather fascinated by him. He knew Severus had come up with a plan. He had to have. Lucius wouldn't be trusting him with this if he didn't, right? Regulus just wished he could be privy to it. It wasn't like he was new to dueling or anything.

"Hey Severus, when do we get to – "

Severus spun around so quickly that Regulus nearly lost his balance on his false leg. "Damn it, Regulus – don't you ever shut up? This is supposed to be a mission of stealth, not of stupid questions! You do what I say, exactly what I say, and exactly when I tell you to do it. Do I make myself clear?"

Regulus blinked at him for a moment before smiling slowly. "You know you look pretty cool when you get angry like that. You should try that on Evans – she might like it!"

"Christ," Severus moaned as he turned to continue.

"What's a Christ? You've got so many of these weird muggle words," Regulus said.

Silence again. Regulus narrowed his eyes.

"Oh, so we're back to this again?"

"_Quiet!_" Severus hissed, turning to cover Regulus' mouth as they both tried to catch the noise again. In the distance Regulus thought he could hear laughter, but it was so faint he couldn't tell if it was from the party or not.

Severus had dropped his voice down to a whisper, "They're coming this way."

Regulus followed. The thumping of his leg followed them both.

"Can't you silence that thing?"

Regulus sighed, dropping his hands to his sides. Nothing seemed to please Severus today. He'd been complementing the leg just a few moments ago, and now he wanted it silenced. The guy seemed to run hot and cold. "I need your cape."

Severus blinked, "My what?"

"Your _cape_. To silence the leg."

"Fine. Whatever. Here, take it." He slipped the knot free from around his neck. Regulus wrapped the peg leg in it, and then tied a sloppy knot at the top so it wouldn't fall off.

Severus watched him for a moment, then smiled and shook his head. "You know you could have just cast a muffliato charm or undone the spell…"

Regulus gave a lopsided grin, "Nah it took me an hour to put this spell on, and I'm not about to take it off now. Besides, you're nearly an expert in magic compared to me. Why didn't you just take it off? Lucius always says you're brilliant in potions, and –"

"Regulus?"

"Yeah?"

"Flattery doesn't work on me, so don't push it." He reached out a thin hand to pull him behind one of the statues and waited for the students to appear.

* * *

Sirius pulled the portrait entrance closed and was keeping an eye on the hallway. "So what's your plan, Jamie?"

"Well, remember the band that played at last year's dance? What was that song they played, Steaming Cauldron of Love? Steamy Cauldron Kisses?"

"_A Cauldron Full of Hot, Strong Love_? I think you were busy watching Lily the entire time," Remus reminded him with a grin.

"Oh yea…"

Sirius smiled, "So I get to scare them all out of the Great Hall?"

"Oh boy!" Peter squeaked, barely able to contain his excitement.

"No, no, you won't scare them. Well, maybe a few…" James snickered.

"Won't scare 'em? C'mon Jamie, don't let this beautiful costume go to waste!" Sirius flexed his shadowy arms to prove his point. "We gotta put something this perfect to good use!" The pathetic loverboy smile on his face simply didn't match the evil aura that surrounded him.

"Come back this way I promise, you're gonna love this idea." James started heading toward the back of the Great Hall when Remus caught his arm.

"James, you've got to tell us what your plan is! You do realize you could get us into some serious trouble here, right?" Remus paused, folding his arms in resolution. "If you want my assistance I at least need to know what you're getting us into."

"Moony, Moony," James flung an arm over his shoulder. "Have I ever led you wrong?"

Remus narrowed his eyes. "Yes, dozens of times. In fact I can't even count how many!"

James grimaced a bit, realizing his mistake. "Okay, fair enough. Have I ever led you wrong _lately_?" Remus went to reply, but James was quicker. "As in the last week?"

Remus narrowed his eyes again. "That's an awfully short timeframe to base your morals."

"Moony," Sirius grinned at him, perhaps the most cheerful Dark Lord ever. "I promise you will have a good time. Okay? I promise!"

Remus acquiesced, nodding shortly in resignation. The pit in his stomach was only getting worse as the night wore on. If Sirius was certain about this, then Remus couldn't very well abandon them.

* * *

"See them?" Severus growled, pointing his wand in the direction of the four students. "They're heading for the Great Hall. I knew it! I knew they were up to something!"

Regulus squinted and could just make out the short one heading down the hallway. He decided that Severus must also know some charms for making your vision better, cause there was no way he could tell what direction they were headed. "Why's it so dark?"

Severus sighed, giving him a poignant look, but then found himself smirking instead at the scrunched up look on Regulus' face. "It's nighttime, Regulus. That's what happens."

"No, I mean with them. Why's it so dark around them?"

"I don't know, some kind of concealment spell I imagine. I wouldn't put it past them to go out and find some obsolete spell just to ruin the evening for everyone else."

"You think they're going to crash the dance?"

Severus nodded, getting to his feet. "Come on, we have to warn the others before Lucius proposes."

The two boys started to make their way back to the party. "Hey Severus?"

He sighed in anticipation of yet another stupid question. Honestly, didn't first-years have anything better to do than to pester their elders? "What is it?"

"How come you smell so good?"

He blinked, pausing in his tracks and turning to the shorter boy. "What? I don't-"

Regulus merely winked, wearing that stupid Black smile like a piece of jewelry, strutting past him with his ridiculous wrapped peg leg. "At least I got an answer out of you finally!"


	4. Threats

Sorry for the delay in getting this up, but Halloween kind of sapped my energy this weekend. And I started Nanowrimo today (woot!) so this kind of was put off till late. ;-) Thanks to all the people following this piece and keeping up with it. I really do appreciate all the reviews that come in, they brighten my day every time I see one pop up in my inbox.

Yea, I'm that lame. =S Anyway - enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 4: Threats

The echoes of the party could be heard from the hallways nearby, and Remus couldn't help but wonder how much he'd have to smooth over with McGonagall this time. Behind these walls, almost every Hogwarts student in the castle was laughing and dancing, enjoying themselves at this costume ball. Part of him wanted to rush in and tell the professors everything that his friends had planned, to thwart the plans before they could even get started. But realistically, he knew that he too was eager to see what James was planning. He had to watch as all those mouths dropped open in complete shock when the Marauders finally got the chance they were looking for: to be the best known troublemakers in Hogwarts history. It was certainly a tall order, but one he felt they were on a clear path towards.

Of course Remus knew that obtaining such a dangerous title might garner him an immediate expulsion from the school, but he'd never had such close friends. And if he had to choose expulsion or his friends, he'd certainly choose the latter. Besides if he did get expelled, he wouldn't be heading out alone. Sure he'd have to face his father's anger, but since Remus had been bitten he'd seen quite a bit of that from him. Incredibly it seemed like his father had changed more from Remus' affliction than he had. These days every trip home was another disappointed look from his father, and apologies from his mother. It seemed like another world compared to his camaraderie with the Marauders. They accepted him regardless of his affliction.

Peter transformed back to his human form next to Remus and pulled him out of his thoughts. "They're patrolling all the exits." His beady eyes were wide with worry, "I barely escaped getting stepped on! And Professor Sprout wanted to put me out in her garden," he frowned.

"Ah, Wormy we wouldn't let her do that!" Sirius slapped him on the back, his red eyes shining in the darkness of the corridor. Peter jumped, but tried to remember that it was Sirius behind him and not really a Dark Lord.

"Really?" Peter sniffled, "I'd hate to be put out there. Her plants might swallow me whole!"

James peered down the hall, his mind deep in thought. "There has to be another way…"

Remus was about to put up a few ideas when a hissing whisper caught his attention, "There'll be no Gryffindors causing a nuisance tonight!" And just as Remus was going for his wand, he was suddenly petrified and falling to the ground. Damn it, he just wasn't fast enough to match Snape!

Above him he saw James and Sirius already had their wands out and spells were flying back and forth, the light from them illuminating the two boys' faces. Peter had fallen back against the wall, shooting spells occasionally, but mostly just cheering his friends on.

"Shit!" cried out another voice, and Remus suddenly realized that Snape wasn't alone. He tried to see who it was but could only make out a wooden stick wrapped in black cloth.

"Don't you dare back away, you cowardly little-" Snape's voice was strained, and evidently he was just distracted enough for James to get in a final blow.

"i_Melofors_!/i" James cried, and an orange spark erupted from his wand. Suddenly Remus was able to move again and Peter was helping him to his feet. As Remus spun around to see what had happened, he saw Snape wobbling around, his arms outstretched, a giant pumpkin in place of his head. Regulus Black, Sirius' younger brother, was beside him being completely useless to the Slytherin cause because he was laughing too hard.

Sirius dragged his fingers through his black hair and stalked over to his brother, who was too busy wiping tears out of his eyes to notice. Moving toward him, Sirius moved out of the shadows he and James had been standing in and stood purposely within a pool of light. "You fool!" his voice hissed. If it wasn't a perfect mimic of the Dark Lord himself, it was certainly close enough. Regulus' eyes grew wide as he stared at him. His wand dropped helplessly to the ground.

Remus had to stifle a laugh; the boy certainly would've had problems were this the real Dark Lord. Putting his wand away, Sirius stalked up to the shorter boy. His serpentine smile grew wider as Regulus started quivering. Remus knew he should've stopped it there. Sirius should have just let the boy run back to the others with his story of coming face to face with the Dark Lord. But this was Sirius. And everything had to be a spectacle.

With two pale hands he lifted the boy off the ground, pulling him eye level. "Do you not know who – I – am?" His red glowing eyes stared into Regulus'. It was simply too much, and recognition started dawning on Regulus. Remus looked at James, but he was too busy mocking Severus to notice that someone was onto the disguise.

"S-Sirius?" Regulus' voice was tiny, but Remus could see clear realization in his eyes. It was as though he were pretending to be frightened now. "Wow, that is really you, isn't it? That is one crazy outfit!" His eyes went up and down Sirius' body in a strange mixture of fear and amazement. "Where'd you get that?"

Sirius paused for a moment, his red eyes blinking in surprise. Then his fearsome face broke into a wide gloating smile, and his voice dropped down to its regular pitch. Remus noticed that James was moving over to them now, probably realizing as Remus did that this was not good. "Well from one of mom's junk chests actually."

"That is so cool! You must've had to sneak it out overnight or something…"

"Actually I sneaked it out during the day! You know she's a night owl."

"Yea, that's a good point," Regulus nodded. His face was the very picture of admiration, but his eyes were dark. They looked like what James called the 'Plotting Slytherin Eyes'.

James let out a moan and walked up to the two, putting a hand on each of them. "Ok, Regulus. Get your pathetic friend here and get the hell out of my face." He motioned down to Severus who was trying to find his wand on the ground. He might've been able to find it if Peter wasn't holding it over his head snickering. "And if you mention this to anyone…"

Regulus nodded calmly, "Not a word. Promise."

"So ah, won't you guys tell me what you're up to?" he smiled innocently up at his older brother.

"Not if your life depended on it," Sirius smiled, placing him roughly onto the ground again. Regulus straightened out his robe before picking up his wand and snatching Snape's wand out of Peter's hand. He casually floated Severus' body into the air amid moans of indignation emanating from his pumpkin head. He drifted Severus' pumpkin-strewn body down the hall and back the way they came, but just as he turned the corner Remus could see he was smiling. More than smiling, he was practically beaming. Remus knew that they'd somehow lost this battle.

"Well that was interesting…"

"Yeah interesting." James spun towards Sirius, "What the hell were you doing? Trading costume ideas? I mean, you're supposed to be a Dark Lord here! You were supposed to scare him away!"

"What are you talking about, Jamie?" Sirius flung his arms out to the side. "Did you see the kid shaking? He was scared!"

James grunted, putting a thumb and forefinger to the bridge of his nose. "Damn you're so dense."

"Hey now, what am I missing here? Moony, what the hell just happened?"

Remus sighed. He intensely wished he could stay out of these arguments. "What happened was: the Slytherins found out that Sirius Black is masquerading as a Dark Lord, and the Marauders are sneaking him into the party."

"Think of them as scouts, Padfoot." James sighed. "And they just figured out what we're planning."

Sirius was quiet for a moment as the realization dawned on him. Peter fidgeted nervously at his side looking from Sirius to James.

"Dammit," Sirius rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "Well why couldn't we have just tied them up in the loo or something?"

"Because," James folded his arms. "They obviously were sent by someone."

Peter cleared his throat, "Well at least you know Snape's not with Lily, right James?"

James gave him a pointed look and Remus just rolled his eyes. They might have just won the battle, but so far the Slytherins were winning the war tonight.

* * *

This was taking far longer than he'd expected. The dessert had already been served and still no sign of Severus or Regulus. Surely it didn't take that long to hunt down four troublesome students. Perhaps one of the professors had found them, or maybe even Filch. Lucius frowned at the thought.

"Lucius, what the hell is wrong with you? If you were any more sour, I'd swear my sister were dating a toad instead of a Malfoy." Bellatrix grinned slyly between bites of cakes and pastries.

He merely smiled back, "I'm so sorry that I'm not being a more gracious sitter for you, Bella dear. I suppose it's necessary for those of us forced to watch over children to behave ourselves now and then."

She rolled her eyes, flicking back a wet strand of hair out of her eyes. "Whatever, Lucius. You know whenever you start talking I instinctively start ignoring you. I can't imagine why that would be!"

Lucius sighed. As Bella was finishing off the last bit of cake on her plate, he started wondering what exactly she was supposed to be dressed as. Her hair was dripping wet, and had been the entire evening. Her clothes were also soaked and she made little puddles throughout the room whenever she stood still for more than a minute. Her makeup was very dark around the eyes, which wasn't necessarily unusual for her; extreme but certainly not unusual. Earlier he had assumed she'd just not dried her hair before coming to the party, but now knowing that it was part of her outfit made it even more disturbing.

"What exactly are you, Bella?"

She blinked for a moment, then smiled and stood up to spin around in her dripping clothes. Lucius was glad he was sitting on the opposite side of the table. "I'm the drowned Ophelia. Committed suicide after going mad from the cruelty of her parents and lover. You know of her, I'm sure."

"Yes, but why the idrowned/i Ophelia? I mean, surely you could just be the living version? Cause less of a mess, perhaps?"

She leaned forward, a cocky grin on her face. "Because that wouldn't annoy you nearly as much. And besides, I think this shows off my figure better than any dress the other girls are wearing."

Lucius had to agree with that. The sleek black dress with the addition of the soaking water left little to the imagination. Bella sat back down in a huff. "And where has my sister run off to, leaving me alone with you of all people. I wonder if she's just trying to bore me to death."

Across the Great Hall, Lucius suddenly heard his name being called out. But it wasn't Severus as he'd hoped or expected, but Narcissa. He jumped at the opportunity to be free of Bella and started heading off in the direction. "If you'll excuse me, Bella," he breathed quickly before heading off, barely noticing her curious expression.

Toward the back of the Great Hall, Narcissa was wringing her hands, her face gleaming in the candlelight but marred with worry. "Lucius, thank you for coming. I would have gone to fetch you myself but I knew Bella would follow if I did."

"Narcissa, what's wrong?"

She sighed, looking markedly calmer and more controlled now that he was here. He loved it when he could soothe her nerves like this. "It's Rodolphus. He… slipped in one of Bellas drippings and hit his head."

Lucius laughed, "Why is that something to worry over? Come, let me see him." He made to leave out the back door, but she grasped his arm quickly.

"Please be discreet. He was planning on proposing to Bella tonight!"

Lucius felt the blood suddenly drain from his face and his mouth dry up. Why was he planning to do it tonight of all times? Didn't he know that Lucius was planning to propose as well? What kind of message was he trying to convey here? "I'll… be discreet," he muttered and headed out through the large doors toward the corridor. He could just see the image in his mind's eye: Rodolphus sporting a fancy bandage around his bloody skull and Bella making a fountain in the middle of the Great Hall as his knees were soaked from kneeling in her newly created puddle. What kind of ridiculous scene would that be?

He found Rodolphus sitting on the ground, holding a handful of napkins to the back of his head. He smiled as Lucius approached. "Good to see you! Hope you know of a few mending charms that might be helpful. I don't exactly want to spend the rest of the party in the Hospital Wing over a small bump, you know?"

Lucius rolled his eyes, looking over his shoulder to make sure Narcissa was out of earshot. He crouched down next to him, glaring as hard as he could into his eyes. "Why are you planning to propose to her itonight/i?" Lucius' hissed through his teeth.

Rodolphus blinked, a sheepish expression coming over him. "Oh, oh she told you that, eh?" His voice was much smaller now.

"Yes, she told me that. And after I specifically told you of my plans? How could you take the evening away from us like that after all my planning and preparation?"

Rodolphus sighed, reaching into his jacket pocket and pulling out the tiny black velvet box. "Because she asked me to," he stated simply.

Lucius shook his head in disbelief, "But why? Why would she want to be engaged the same night as her sister?" He didn't think Bella had an ounce of ill will against Narcissa. True they tended to disagree with each other frequently, but that certainly didn't mean there was any bad blood between them.

"Bellatrix wanted to have as grand an engagement as her sister. Come now, surely you've noticed that sexy dress she's wearing tonight. She wore that specifically for the event." Lucius had to hold back the shudder of disgust that swept through him at the thought of someone iwanting/i to be engaged in that outfit.

"Come now, Lucius. Two engagements in one night isn't so bad, is it?" he smiled apologetically.

Lucius raised his head slightly in indignation. "Yes, Rodolphus, it is in fact that bad. I refuse to let either of you take away from Narcissa's limelight tonight. You might just want to use that head injury as an excuse to keep your distance the rest of the evening. I wouldn't want to have to …remove you for the remainder of the dance."

His eyes were wide, "But what about Bellatrix!"

"She'll be fine. You two will simply have to choose another night. It's not that difficult. Now come here." Lucius leaned his head forward and did a small mending charm to make the wound less obvious. "It's not much. You'll probably still have to see the mediwitch by tomorrow."

Rodolphus sighed, "Alright Lucius. Thank you."

"Not a problem." He leaned down and helped him back to his feet. "So, do we have an agreement?" Lucius held out his hand politely, a knowing smile on his lips.

He sighed again, looking at Lucius' hand with some agitation. Lucius waited patiently, maintaining eye contact whenever he could. Finally Rodolphus took it and gave a weak shake. "Yeah, we've got one."

"Excellent."


	5. Sidetracked

Hey all! So sorry that I didn't get a chance to post the next chapter last weekend. RL has been pretty demanding of my attention lately. So to make up for it, I do plan to post two chapters this weekend. On the other hand, my original novel is coming along quite nicely thanks to NaNoWriMo. =)

And a big thanks to those of you who read & review. I really appreciate it!

Anyway, onto the next chapter!

* * *

Chapter 5: Sidetracked

Regulus pulled Severus down several hallways before he figured they were clear of the Marauders. Severus had said they were going to warn the others, not charge in and try to take them out. He still couldn't believe the guts on this guy – facing down all four Marauders and expecting him to do the same? Sneaking, stalking, figuring out information – he could do those things. But an outnumbered wand match was not exactly his forte. He pulled Severus behind a wall and allowed himself a moment to appreciate the moment.

Slumped at his feet, pulling desperately at the giant pumpkin on top of his shoulders, Severus' body looked even smaller than normal. Regulus had to hold back the laughter. His friend would be quick to hear it. Besides he had to prepare himself to face the renowned wrath of Snape. Rumor had it his glare could make even McGonnagal squirm. Using a cutting charm he'd picked up at home, he had chopped the large pumpkin into a slimy orange mess in a matter of moments. Severus stood awkwardly, hands wiping at his face and the curse words already attempting to make their way out of his mouth for all the pumpkin seeds and spittle.

Regulus sighed in amusement, starting in on the cleaning charms and laughing to himself at Severus' vain attempts to wipe off the muck.

"Those cursed… hideous…disgusting…" Each word escaped Severus' lips at a higher pitch of rage, and Regulus started to get nervous. He desperately hoped Snape didn't shriek like Mother did when she got angry, and his eyes were already darting down the hallways in search of an emergency exit just to be safe.

"Shh, calm down. It's just a pumpkin." Regulus whispered, too distracted to notice Severus' outraged expression.

"Just a –"

"Hmm, I think if we head this way we should be able to avoid Filch –"

"Just a pumpkin – ?"

" – and head back to the party without anyone noticing." Regulus finished with a smile. He already knew the news he'd deliver to Malfoy and the others. How shocked and amazed when they heard of their scuffle and of Snape's bravery. He turned back to his glowering friend with that same cocky Black grin, not even noticing the small balled fist that was moving quickly toward his jaw.

The pain exploded on his cheek and the dim light from the hall torches doubled and tripled for a moment, the light intensifying. Then Severus was walking up to him again, his form blurry and unfocused. But he could make out the other fist raising. Regulus didn't know what to do other than put his arms over his face. The words were pouring out of Severus' mouth, but Regulus could only catch bits and pieces.

"You pathetic little son of a whore! You could have fucking helped me back there instead of making me look so goddamn stupid!"

_Smack!_

"You let them humiliate me!"

_Smack!_

That last one really made the lights beam as Severus' fist knocked into his temple. Regulus reeled for a moment then landed against something cold and smooth. He slowly let himself slump to the ground, listening to the sounds of Severus' furious breaths, not knowing what was going to come next.

* * *

It had all happened far too quickly. He hadn't ever intended to punch the boy really. But before he'd known it his arms had grown minds of their own, acting of their own accord and no longer listening to his commands. And they weren't even his hands anymore were they? For just those few moments, they weren't his. His hands, his voice, they belonged to Da-.

He caught himself, suddenly regaining control of his limbs as quickly as he'd lost it. He opened his palms and stared at the thin hands, the long fingers winding up. They looked nothing like Tobias' hard, course hands. His fingers were so covered in the dirt and grime of the mill they had almost absorbed the color. But not his, his hands were still pale and clean. At least for the most part.

Reluctantly he looked down at Regulus' crumpled form, a dark shape forming on either side of his jaw where his fist had made contact. Regulus' glassy eyes were staring listlessly across the hall, with his arms in front of his face in case more blows were coming. Severus felt pain at the recognition he saw in that position, and it wasn't that difficult to imagine what he must have looked like in his fit of rage. Much like his father, he imagined.

The very thought that he and Tobias had anything in common formed a tight knot of anger in his chest. The memories came without need or want, but they spilled over his mind nonetheless. He his mother, her dark eyes and pale face framed by the thin black hair he'd inherited. Her lips were red, blood red from the beating she'd endured the night before. The light had only just begun seeping into the tiny room they called the kitchen, though really it had felt more like a hallway with the amount of space. She'd been sitting at the kitchen table and she hadn't turned when he'd entered. Her voice was quiet but hard, as though a hot fire burned behind the thin words. Her hands were clutching her familiar blue mug of coffee on the side of which "Freshly Brewed" was scripted alongside the cartoonish picture of a witch beside her cauldron. Her hands were trembling. Slightly, but it was enough for him to notice.

A cigarette hung loosely from her lips, the tobacco had been what had awoken him that morning. She usually smoked when she got depressed. That morning she was nursing a dark black splotch over her right eye, her black bangs parted just above it, as though she'd half-heartedly tried to tend to it earlier. Severus sighed, pulling up a chair beside her, and flicked his wand out.

"Don't," she whispered, her eyes growing cold and suddenly seeing him.

"You can't just let them stay."

"He hates it when you use magic. You'll simply give him an excuse to come out and give you the same."

Severus sighed again, his forehead creased with worry. "Then… I'll just have to do the same when he does it to me, won't I?"

He leaned forward tentatively and started muttering healing charms to himself, his gaze occasionally drifting back to her eyes. They still burned but she didn't resist his aid.

Pulling his mind to the present, he looked down at Regulus. His mother had been right of course. Tobias had found out what he'd done and gotten furious as he always did; except Severus had gotten two black eyes for the price of healing one. He thought of his mother and her prideful eyes, her inner strength. He also felt their cold rage. He shouldn't have done this. He shouldn't have become what he hated most, some blind stupid muggle that swung before he spoke. He had seen what could come of it. But he also knew that he couldn't deal with that now. Even if Regulus only liked being around him because he thought he was useful, at least he was around. That's more than he could say for Lily at the moment.

The entire evening Regulus hadn't done much to anger him, at least not intentionally. His similarities to his brother were the only persistent annoyances. And then when he floated him down the halls bearing a pumpkin on his head, it was just too much like a move Sirius Black would pull for him to find it amusing. Severus couldn't deny his own fiery temper, but even if it became too much to bear, that didn't mean he could lash out at Regulus. Hell it didn't excuse him lashing out at anyone, but least of all a first year. The Marauders at least could take it, but this kid certainly couldn't. He sighed, knowing what was coming next. He'd have to try and fix this, like he always had to do after he stepped out of line. He had to put this to rest, even if it meant… apologizing.

He shuddered at the thought, and then sunk down beside Regulus as humbly as possible. Regulus' eyes came into focus then, watching him warily as though he was a wild animal that could lunge out and snap at him. Not that Severus could really blame him. He didn't really trust himself either at the moment.

After a few moments of silence, Regulus' voice came out in a bitter whisper, "You feel better now?"

Severus felt his shame rushing to his cheeks, and pulled up his knees to his chest. He wrapped his arms around them and then propped his chin against the makeshift bridge. "I'm… I'm sorry, Regulus. I didn't mean to do it…" The words sounded so useless when they came out. So much less apologetic than how he felt. How he hated his voice sometimes.

Regulus watched him for a moment, Severus could feel his stare. It was difficult not to meet glare. It wasn't everyday that someone attacked you and then a moment later apologized for it, especially in Hogwarts. He'd probably never let him live this down, and once the other Slytherins caught wind of it they'd shun him. He'd be ostracized from the only group to which he'd ever really belonged.

Pulling himself into more of an upright position, Regalus let out a shaky sigh. "You really didn't like that pumpkin spell too much, did you?" he chuckled nervously.

Severus couldn't really make himself find the humor, but waited a moment before responding. "Evidently not."

"Yeah well…" Regulus felt his face gingerly with one hand. "At least this'll add to me pirate costume, eh matey?"

Severus looked up and smiled weakly. "I really didn't think your costume needed _that_ much of an improvement."

Regulus laughed, coaxing a small sort of snort out of his friend. Then he pushed himself up next to Severus, sliding his bum across the floor with his wrapped peg leg. "Don't worry, man. I won't tell anyone you beat the crap out of me. Promise," he grinned.

"Damn it, Regulus." Severus rolled his eyes. Oddly enough, he was smiling too.

"No seriously, why the hell would I want to do that? I mean, that hurt like crazy!" Severus looked at him with complete confusion, but Regulus continued. "I mean my mom, sure she can get mad. But when she gets _really mad_, I mean we're talking spells you wished had just finished you off, you know?"

Severus blinked, a strange mixture of humiliation and curiosity, "No, actually I don't."

"Well, there was this time that Sirius and I were playing in the house. You know, tossing the quaffle around. I mean, our house doesn't have anything you'd call a yard really, so we were doing it in the house of course. And then mom gets home and goes completely berserk. She starts spitting hexes and curses out right and left, I mean some things I've never even _dreamed_ would exist. Stuff's flying everywhere, dishes flying out of the cupboard, plates flying at us, the oven's throwing fire up. And the next thing we know, we've been herded down to the basement."

Severus smiled, "Oh, well that's not so bad."

Regulus looked at him as though he were crazy.

"What? I'd love staying in a basement for a while. No sunlight getting in my eyes, plenty of time to read and work on potions – with the proper equipment of course…"

"Oh no, we didn't have one of those friendly basements."

Severus cocked an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"No, no, no. You wouldn't want to be in this one for any length of time. You see, my mom, she liked to dabble in dark arts."

He couldn't help it; Severus' interest was instantly piqued. He tried not to let his voice show it. "Oh really? Huh, imagine that."

"Yeah, imagine that." A shudder went down Regulus' back. "I guess she stuck all her failed experiments down there. Let's just say she really liked her family, ok?"

His eyes grew wide. "Regulus! You don't mean she…."

"Uh-huh." He sighed heavily. "She sure did."

"I mean, that's just, oh my God that's disgusting!" Severus' mind was filled with horrid images of Walburgia Black sneaking down into the basement wearing little more than a house robe. His voice came out in a strained whisper, as though the word itself stung his throat. "Necrophelia?"

Regulus blinked, "What?"

"Necrophelia?" He repeated it, hoping to God he wasn't going to have to explain another Muggle word.

"No, clue what that is." Regulus' blank eyes stared as he shook his head. "No, she turned them into inferni."

"Oh!" Severus was absolutely relieved. For a moment at least until the words dawned on him. "Oh. That's disgusting."

"Yeah," Regulus shook his head.

Severus was simply glad he hadn't ruined the poor first year's mind with that kind of rubbish. He could only imagine what he would have thought had he told him.

* * *

The thundering of feet across the dance floor made him feel as if he were dodging around a pack of wild elephants instead of his fellow classmates. Peter's beady black eyes darted back and forth at each of the pairs of legs. His feet were skittering across the polished wooden floor of the Great Hall almost as quickly as his heart was racing. He'd combed almost the entire room, from each shadowy corner to the dazzlingly colored dance floor and there was still no sign of him. Malfoy's bright blonde hair was typically very distinctive and Peter thought it would've attracted his attention even amid the torrent of dancers. Deftly he skittered underneath wide skirts to get a glimpse of a shapely witch's undergarments, and then pull his tail away to move onto the next lovely pair of legs. Still, even as he nearly had a particularly high heel jammed into his rear, he was fairly certain that the Slytherin was nowhere near here.

Frustrated and out of breath, he crept under the safety of one of the numerous dining tables, covered in thick black velvet and tiny iridescent pumpkins for the festivities. He wrung his tiny paws with worry, scanning the room for one last sweep of the Great Hall. Unfortunately the refreshment table he was underneath was more populated than he would've liked, making it particularly difficult to spot much of anything in the distance. The music from the stage was horribly loud to his sensitive rodent ears, and he dreaded having to go toward it to reach his friends. Oh, how he wished for hands to plug up his ears!

With a twitch of his whiskered nose and a sigh that sounded more like a squeak, he dove out from under the cloth toward the stage where the wizard band was playing. He couldn't recall what their name was, but their romantic violin solo had obviously been given a much too powerful sonorus spell. As he cleared the immediate line of students huddled around the table, he barely registered that he'd popped out directly in front of Narcissa Black – and more importantly that she'd seen him. Peter kept on his chosen path, weaving into the throng of the dangerous dancers' shoes. Narcissa's shriek of fright mingled with the whining violin as he scurried up behind the shadowy curtains of the wooden stage.

He placed his furry paws against his large ears even as he was transforming back to his normal human form. "Oh that noise!" he squealed. "You'd think they could turn it down." Peter looked toward his friends, but realized that other than screaming at them there was no way they could actually hear him. Peter sighed, shuffling over to James and tugging at his sleeve. James turned, nodding and raising his eyebrows inquisitively. The smile on his face told that he was hoping Peter had good news for him.

Remus moved up behind James; he was still wearing the dark vampiric robes, but now had a guitar over his chest. James also had one, and he cradled it with one arm as he waited in anticipation. Peter shrugged and shook his head. There'd been no sign of any of them, not Snape, not Sirius' brother, and certainly not Malfoy. Peter could tell this didn't sit well with James; he recognized those furrowed bushy eyebrows and the finger that sat in contemplation on the bridge of his glasses. The Slytherins were planning something, but at this point it was anybody's idea what. Snape and Regulus didn't seem to have given anything away earlier about their plans, but they had definitely wanted to stop the four of them. More than likely it was due to the simple fact that they were Gryffindors – most of the time that was all the reason that was necessary.

The musicians on the stage had finally finished and the roar of applause emerged from the other side of the folds of ruby fabric. Peter was thankful to be able to hear again, though the ring of the violin still reverberated within his ears. James put a hand on his shoulder and led him to the side, guiding him to a squat rolling chair. Peter was curious, but waited to see what secret James wanted to share. He was shocked when instead James waved to a wide set of drums beside him, his smile gleaming in the shadowy room. He stared down at the five round objects with a fresh wave of panic washing over him. This was possibly worse than a pop quiz in potions class.

"But – James!" his voice caught in his throat, which had swollen up as soon as he'd seen the drums. "I don't know how to play one of these muggle… things!"

James smiled, cocking his head to the side. "It's okay, you don't have to. All you have to do is _look_ like you know how. Okay?"

Peter stared down at the dim white drum heads with horror. He could feel his body shaking from head to toe. "But… I… "

"Come on, it's not that bad. We'll be doing it too, right Moony?"

Remus nodded meekly, his cheerful grin not meeting his eyes. He kept looking behind them as though a nightmarish McGonnagal was going to spring forth out of the shadows shouting detentions and homework. From beside him, a trap door lifted up from beneath the stage, revealing a dark, shadowy figure nearly giving Peter a heart attack.

"Sirius," James laughed nervously. He'd evidently been more spooked by his appearance than he'd let on. "You find a way to the stage?"

"You bet," Sirius smiled a toothy grin, his eyes looming red orbs. "I got this covered."


	6. The Three Sisters

Well here is the next chapter - as promised (even if it is just barely under the deadline). Again I always love reading reviews and any feedback you might have. They definitely make writing these pieces all the more worthwhile.

Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 6: The Three Sisters

After leading Lucius to the back room, Narcissa had made a direct line for the drinks. She got herself a tall glass of butterbeer and found a seat where she could keep an eye on the back room where Lucius was assisting Rodolphus. As much as she loved her sister, Bella was part of the reason the poor man was in such a mess. The puddles Bella was leaving throughout the Great Hall were so numerous that the House Elves were having a rough time keeping up with them. Occasionally Narcissa would see a tiny figure pop in and deftly snap a puddle clean before popping out again, all in mere moments. But the Great Hall was adorned with mood lighting, which meant everyone had to hope the floor was still beneath them when they walked around the room

She hadn't seen Bella when she'd returned, but honestly she was rather grateful for a little bit of quiet time. Once Rodolphus proposed, the place would be packed and she'd be surrounded by other students asking her questions, many of which she knew she wouldn't have answers to. She knew that Bella and Rodolphus were certainly serious about being with each other, but they'd only been seeing each other for a year. She and Lucius had been seeing each other for three years and he certainly hadn't indicated any plans of proposing.

However, Lucius was a Malfoy as Bella frequently reminded her. His family line had a strong French background, and for some reason that made everyone assume that he wasn't seriously interested in marriage, or that he had some sweet French tart on the side. The idea was completely abhorrent to Narcissa, and she balled her free hand unconsciously. To be honest she really couldn't imagine Lucius treating her in such a foul fashion. Regardless of what others thought of his attractiveness and the ease with which he manipulated his fellow Slytherins, Narcissa firmly believed he loved her. She despised the nervous eyes and slight frowns she'd get when speaking of their future. And now that Bella was to be engaged, that would mean of course that their parents would be joining in, asking her what she was planning and when. And she knew they'd expect her to be at least be engaged before graduation; it was a requirement of all three sisters.

She took a long drought on her drink and sighed. In a few years they'd all be happily married and maybe even have a few children on the way. It felt like her time at Hogwarts was slipping quickly past her, and the best she could hope for was to hold on. She let her eyes sweep across the throng of dancers, the other students gathered around the refreshment tables, whispering romantic words to their loved ones. Sometimes she wondered how much easier it would be were she not a pure blood and held by all the expectations and pressures of her family. She knew Lucius experienced it as well, perhaps even more so since he was the only heir to the Malfoy fortune. But he preferred not to mention it, and the few times she'd pried into his family's requests, he'd clamed up.

At least he didn't have to worry about being compared to his siblings constantly. She loved both Bella and Andromeda dearly, but as they'd gotten older and closer to the marrying age there grew a discernable distance between them, a wide gap that had not existed before. Andromeda's contempt toward their family as a whole had pushed Narcissa and Bella closer, and mother had all but given up on Andromeda marrying a respectable pure-blood. Even tonight she was down in the Slytherin dungeons, probably writing a letter to her muggle boyfriend instead of mingling with her wizarding friends and family. The entire situation made Narcissa weary, longing for the simple times they'd spent in their youth. Though to hear Bella talk of her, you'd think she'd never had Andromeda as a sister.

Narcissa swirled her butterbeer within the glass, the dark orange liquid sparkling against the reflection of the starry ceiling. She was still a respectable Black, she reminded herself. Regardless of what happened with her sisters, she still had her family's reputation to think of. This was neither the time nor the place to be moping about uncertain futures. She couldn't sit hidden away on the sidelines for the duration of the party. Perhaps she should track down Bella and try feeling her out for the impromptu engagement. Did she know about it? Or had she been part of planning it? Narcissa couldn't help but wonder, and the potential gossip was making her daringly curious. At the back of the room Lucius strode out, his dark green tights giving him a most pleasing silhouette as he searched the crowd for her. Narcissa couldn't repress the devious grin. He was bloody hot.

She stood up quickly and started making her way around the table to wave to him, but froze. Something warm and furry rushed by her legs. Her eyes widened as she watched the large rodent slip away from her legs, its long coiled tail disappearing into the throng of dancers. She couldn't help the yelp of fright that escaped her lips as she dropped her empty glass to the ground.

She felt strong hands wrap around her arms, "Narcissa! Are you alright?"

Narcissa turned to Lucius, pointing a finger in the direction the disgusting creature had scampered. In the rat's place was a dismal looking house elf, which quickly repaired the broken glass before popping off again. "Lucius – oh thank goodness! It was a rat – a horrible, gigantic, disgusting thing!"

Lucius snickered rubbing his warm hands briskly up and down her arms, "Come now, surely it wasn't _that_ big." Narcissa aimed her wide-eyed glare directly into Lucius' grey eyes. His normally relaxed stance became a bit tense. One thing she'd learned of her Black heritage: her anger certainly rattled him. Typically he was all arrogance and pomp, but as soon as he knew she was serious his entire demeanor changed. Sometimes all those old sadistic family rumors could be quite useful.

Lucius shook his head, returning a nervous smile to her cold gaze. "Come dear, have a seat." He brought her over to an abandoned table, keeping his cool as best as possible. "Your nerves are probably just shaken, dear." She rolled her eyes. He must have meant; "whatever it takes to remove that murderous glare, dear". Normally she'd give some kind of snarky remark, but sometimes it's best to make a lover feel like he's needed. Especially when it's Lucius, who always thinks he's in control of the situation. She sat down slowly. He pulled up a chair beside her, and placed her hand in his, smiling intently. For the life of her she couldn't figure out why he suddenly was so strange. Was her dress crooked? Did he want something? Her mind grasped at anything to change the topic.

"So how did it go with Rodolphus?" she smiled, hoping her forced curiosity wouldn't be detected. The way he was acting, she was starting to wonder if he'd been hexed in her short absence.

"Hm? Oh it went splendidly, actually. I was surprised; I thought for sure he'd have put up more of a fight."

Narcissa cocked an eyebrow, "More of a fight? Lucius what are you-"

"I mean his head obviously lost the battle in the end, wouldn't you agree?" His earnest smile bespoke more amusement than sincerity.

She sighed. The entire evening had been rather draining, and now Lucius was playing games with her. "I truly hope you didn't give him a hard time, dear."

"Me? Oh never, love!" Lucius cooed, "Come, you look more refreshed now." He grasped her hands in his and stood before her; he was practically beaming. It was a bit frightening. "Care for a dance, my dear?"

"A… dance? Oh, I don't know. I'm still a bit shaken still, I think."

"Nonsense! All you need is a turn around the dance floor and you'll feel better. You sit still for too long and that butterbeer will go to your head."

There was hardly any room for dissent as he pulled her to her feet and led her reluctantly to the main floor. The dancers were far fewer than there had been earlier, but it was still packed enough that Lucius had to push for a spot. They started in an easy sway, and Narcissa relaxed and tried to enjoy the moment. Though this certainly wasn't the final dance of the year, it was one of the last Halloween balls they'd be able to attend. Meaning he wouldn't get another chance to wear those eye-catching leggings. She stole a glance up into his eyes, surprised that he was scanning the room instead of noticing her. What was he searching for?

Narcissa pulled him in closer, and took the opportunity to see if she could get more information out of him. She laid her head on his chest, putting her face just under his chin so she knew he could hear her. If there was one thing she hated, it was being left in the dark. Something was going on, and she'd be damned if she allowed Lucius to keep her out of it.

"Lucius, love, who in the world are you looking for?"

He blinked, apparently surprised she'd noticed. He was always so damned arrogant. "No one my dear. I was… trying to figure out if this was the best time."

She sighed, not in the least surprised she'd been given a cryptic answer. "The best time for what exactly? Heading to the dungeon?" She smiled wickedly, trailing a finger across his abdomen and loving the slightest hint of color rise on his pale cheeks. The blushing Robin Hood smiled sheepishly for just a moment before collecting himself once more.

His eyes became softer, and his footsteps slowed as he wrapped a strong arm around her waist. "Why the best time to surprise you, my dear." He leaned down to place a graceful kiss on her forehead.

"Lucius!"

Lucius looked up quickly at the hiss of his name from across the room. Narcissa pursed her lips and closed her eyes. She was so close to getting it out of him – why did they have to be interrupted now? Small romantic whispers, stolen glances? It wore her on her patience. She prepared her most fetid glare for whoever the interloper was, but her outrage turned to chagrin as she watched poor Severus try to weave his way through the tightly packed dancers. He looked positively alien on the floor and it seemed every step he took forward involved nearly colliding with some outraged pair of students. It was quite comical, though Lucius was quite urgent to find out what he wanted.

Regulus reached them first from the side, sporting a foolhardy grin and a most hideous black eye that Narcissa was certain hadn't been there earlier in the evening. "Regulus!" She gasped, unconsciously pulling away from Lucius to clamp a hand over her lips. "What in the world happened to you?"

"Oh this?" Regulus gleamed, "Oh, its nothing. Just got into a bit of a skirmish with some other students while Severus and I were, uh, taking care of things."

"Was it with the Marauders?" Lucius gritted. Regulus barely noticed the question; he was far too intent on explaining the harrowing incident.

"Well, Severus and I were sneaking around, doing our thing, when those goddamn Gryffindors just got dropped out of nowhere! Severus went down first, but they obviously didn't know they were up against a Black," he winked appreciatively at Narcissa. "I took out two pretty quickly, bashing their heads up against the walls. But then the one that had taken Severus out came up behind me and caught me off guard. I may look bad, but you should've seen him! I'm sure he'll be licking his wound for some time." He crossed his arms and nodded in agreement with himself.

"Are you finished yet?" Severus had finally made his way to the trio and looked quite aggravated at the throngs of people making circles around them. Each couple was clearly curious about the incident, but pretended not to be.

Lucius smiled, "Severus – excellent! Please you must tell me what happened," his eyes shot obvious concern in Regulus' direction before locking again on Severus.

"Lucius, they're planning to crash it."

"It – what are you talking about?" Narcissa finally realized that this might be what Lucius had been hiding from her all evening.

"It. The party of course." Severus looked exasperated at having to explain himself.

Lucius was already scanning the crowd, "Where are they coming from?"

"I don't know exactly, but they were definitely headed for the front of the room.

Lucius turned to look at him dubiously, "Toward the stage?" Severus nodded. "How very odd..."

"Yeah, and you will not believe Sirius' costume!" Regulus couldn't hold back the guffaws of laughter.

"His costume?" Severus smirked, "You didn't tell me about that. What does he look like? A giant ass? Cause that would be an improvement."

"Wait," Narcissa chimed in, "I don't understand – I thought both of you fought the Marauders." She turned to Severus, "What happened out there? And why all this foolish secrecy?"

Severus took a few moments to look between the glaring eyes of Narcissa and Lucius' chagrin. "Lucius, are you still stalling?"

"What? No! I just wanted to make sure it was the right time, that's all."

"Lucius, what the bloody hell is this all about?" Narcissa was seething. Her feet were sore, she now had a pervasive headache thanks to the ear-splitting violin on stage, and now she found that her suspicions had indeed been true. Lucius was hiding something, and more than likely it wasn't good.

"Narcissa, dear." He clasped her hands in his, "I admit I've been hiding something from you tonight. And to be honest with you, it was definitely a feat to keep it hidden. But now…"

From the main stage, a spotlight was steady over a particularly loud violin solo. Other than the main stage though, there was no movement. Even the few professors that had been milling about at the beginning of the party had slunk out of the room or assaulted the food and drinks. He swallowed hard, giving a thoughtful smile before dropping down to one knee.

"Narcissa, my love," he reached into his pocket and produced a tiny green velvet bag. He pinched his fingers into the tiny satchel and produced a large silver ring. "Would you be my most perfect Maid Mariam for all eternity?"

Regulus tried to get a better look, but Severus held him back. The ring glinted beneath the starry sky above, and Narcissa could just make out the tiny emerald eyes of two snakes circling around the rim continuously.

"Oh, Lucius!" she cried, clasping her hands together.

As the final note of the violin ended and echoed throughout the Great Hall, it felt for just a moment that the entire student body was waiting on Narcissa's response. Her eyes were full of tears and she was having problems catching her breath. And just as the words "I do" started to form on her lips, the entire room fell into complete darkness.


	7. Showtime

Chapter 7: Showtime

When the entire room plummeted into darkness, it was certainly bad enough to put most of the students on edge. But the high pitched screaming of the young witches, matched with the embarrassingly high cries of the wizards, only made Severus annoyed. The evening had been leading up to one giant annoyance in his eyes, and his hand went instinctively for his wand. He honestly didn't understand what these people were so upset about; he was perfectly comfortable in a dark room.

Regulus was perhaps the most obnoxiously loud student in the room, simply due to his close proximity. "Oh god – what do you think happened? The Gryffindors, you think?"

Of course Narcissa wasn't much better; her voice was at a considerably higher pitch, just enough to make Severus' temples ache. "Lucius! What's this all about? What did you three do?"

"Nothing – honestly, dear!"

"If this is some sort of engagement surprise, then you certainly could have had better taste!"

"No, I promise. I had nothing to do with this. I have absolutely no idea what's going on," Lucius gritted.

Arguing at a time when they should be reacting to an imminent danger. Those two will make an excellent couple, he thought snidely. He elbowed Regulus in the side simply to get him to shut up, and then dragged him toward the front of the room. The boy was crap in a fight, but at the moment he was the only semi-competent backup available. Above them what had been a starlit sky was utterly black, all except a small area over the stage the was dimly brighter than the rest of the room. Over the stage, he could see the start of a strange mist forming. As the two crept closer, Severus noted that the closer they got to it, the faster the other students were moving to get away from it. They were tripping over chairs, slamming into their boyfriends and girlfriends, and generally just freaking as though an army of trolls had just appeared. Honestly, why were they all so cowardly?

"Regulus," Severus aimed a finger up at the thickening mist on stage. "What do you think is causing that?" Severus wasn't quite sure why he was whispering, but something told him he should keep his voice down. Regulus' face was very dimly visible in the foggy light emanating from around the stage, and he squinted towards it.

"No clue," he swallowed hard, eying the other students as though he wanted to take off with them. But he tried to stay focused. "You think the Marauders are behind it?"

"Do _you_ know of any fogging spell?"

Regulus shook his head a bit nervously. "Could it be some muggle device?"

Severus didn't think so. No electronic devices worked here, unless they'd found some way to do it without one. He tried to think back to times during Halloween when he was young, but he'd never really been interested in that sort of thing. He'd had much more fun watching the other kids get scared. He thought it had something to do with ice. "Even if it were," he responded finally, "I don't know if they'd even know how to use it."

Severus glanced at Regulus to see if he had any other ideas, but his friend's eyes were wide. He turned his attention to the very front of the stage to see a slinking black shape rising up from the floor. The fog had concealed most of its body giving it the appearance of some ghostly apparition. Finally the shadowy creature flung back his cape and revealing his glowing red eyes and an all too familiar face. A strange hush came over the students, as though they had collectively drawn in breath as preparation for whatever was to come.

"Fear me!" The thin, high-pitched voice rebounded across the room, and Severus broke into a cold sweat. "_I_ now command your school, you unbelievers!"

From behind him, the students who Severus had thought had been screaming before now truly began to scream. Their shrieking voices bounced off the tall walls of the Great Hall. Severus knew he needed to run, that he should bolt from the room without looking back, but his legs had become stubborn and refused to pay attention to his logic. His body was trembling as he stared into those vicious red eyes. Was this truly him? Was this the Dark Lord? Had the Gryffindors of all people _actually_ let him into the school!

He felt something poke him in the side, but didn't pay much attention to it; he was enraptured watching the shadowy creature lift his wand to aim it menacingly at the mass of students. His eyes seemed to fall on each and every one of them, and Severus heard his heart thumping wildly in his ears. He vaguely wondered if he might pass out.

"Isn't this great?"

Finally he heard Regulus' voice, and his anger and confusion pulled him back. He glanced at him, and saw that Regulus was _actually smiling_. Maybe he should've done worse to him in the hallway earlier.

"What the bloody hell are you talking about?" his voice was softer than he'd intended, but it was fueled by his rage. "Great, the Dark Lord might kill us all?"

Regulus chuckled, shaking his head. "Nah, he's no Dark Lord, trust me. He's a good imitation, but he's certainly not Him."

Severus was having a hard time trying to wrap his mind around those words. "Not the Dark Lord?" he muttered stupidly.

"Nope. But wow, is he an attention hog!"

Severus couldn't quite believe he was hearing this. "Oh and I suppose you'd be the expert?"

"What me? No, no. I'm just saying – my brother's good, but not that good."

"Your brother?" Severus' rage was rising swiftly. "_That's_ Sirius Black?"

"Yup!"

Severus didn't even realize he'd pulled out his wand, but a curse was already on his lips. Suddenly a red light burst at his fingertips and he felt a flash of pain. He dropped his wand instinctively with a gasp.

"What are you doing?" Bellatrix was stalking over to him, her eyes wide. Popping in and out behind her was a dismal house elf making a vain attempt to keep up with the numerous puddles she'd been creating all evening. "You can't curse him!"

"But – But – !" Severus was livid, and coherent words were no longer possible. He pointed up at Sirius' form on stage, as though that were all the argument he needed.

Bellatrix held up a finger as though she were training a dog. "No! And Regulus, you'd best not let him have that wand again."

Regulus sighed, folding his arms as Bella stalked off – the tiny house elf not far behind. "What the hell was that all about?"

Severus didn't care what Bella thought. All he knew was that Sirius Black of all people had no right to impersonate the Dark Lord.

* * *

Narcissa was absolutely terrified. She had never expected the Dark Lord to fall upon their school at such a beautiful moment. The tears were streaking her face, though Lucius' firm arm around her waist did help. She wasn't sure what had happened, but had an unsettling feeling that Lucius was somehow involved.

His eyes were hard, and she could feel the heat of his anger. She took a calming breath before she spoke, "Lucius, shouldn't we leave? Escape before he…" Narcissa wasn't sure what the Dark Lord would do to them, but she had no intention to sit around to find out. Her eyes scanned the outer perimeter of the room. Surely one of the professors was nearby, surely one of them would stop him. Her eyes fell upon Professor Slughorn at the very back of the room, pushing students aside to reach the exit to the Great Hall. The more optimistic part of her was hoping that he was going for help, but honestly she doubted it.

"Of all the nerve," Lucius spat.

"What?"

"What do you mean, _what_? Your bloody cousin, that's who!"

"Oh Lucius, how can you bring Sirius and Regulus into this!"

Bella suddenly appeared beside them, her face gleamed with restrained excitement. "Lucius – Cissy! Do you see him? Oh it's wonderful – what a fabulous evening! The Dark Lord, here, at our school!" She squeeled a little in excitement, watching him on the stage. Behind him, three dark forms were also rising up out of the mist. "And look there! Actual Death Eaters! Oh, I wonder if they'll kill a mudblood for us!"

The very idea made Narcissa's stomach tilt. She could not even fathom what it was about this horrific situation that made her sister so giddy, but she wasn't sure if she could stomach it for long. The idea of one of her classmates falling to the killing curse… and on the eve of her marriage proposal…

"That," Lucius pointed an accusatory finger toward the stage. "That is not the Dark Lord."

"What?" Bella blinked, lifting her chin suspiciously. "You wouldn't know the Dark Lord if he blasted you right here with an _Avada Kadavra_ curse."

"Bella, don't say such things!" Narcissa's voice caught in her throat, and she pulled on Lucius' arm willing him to leave. "We mustn't stay here, dear!"

Then the guitars started playing, a low, steady beat thrumming through the audience. The drums joined in, and then the angry hissing voice of the Dark Lord even joined. Other than the music, the entire room was stalled in shock.

"What in the…" Even Bellatrix wasn't sure what to do. She couldn't recall if there had ever been news that the Dark Lord sang to his enemies. Torture them, yes; talk to them, perhaps; but sing? It was the most absurd idea she'd ever heard of. But she kind of liked it. She liked it so much in fact that she didn't notice Lucius raise his wand slowly to the lead singer, taking careful aim not to miss.


	8. Bringing Down the Curtain

Hope everyone is looking forward to the new year! I know I am. I'm happy to have the second to last chapter up! And next time, I'll even try to send you guys links to artwork that was made for this piece. =D

And a special thanks goes out to Serenity984 for letting me know the Marauders have been added to the character listing. I've updated this fic to show it.

Chapter 8: Bringing Down the Curtain

Severus' eyes were locked onto the hooded figure on stage. The bastard was so interested in his ridiculous singing that he didn't notice him, though he had to admit he was an expert at slinking through shadows. From behind him the screaming of the students had ceased completely and Severus hoped they were still here to see this. He was not about to let Sirius make a complete mockery of the school, and he couldn't wait to humiliate him before their entire class.

Moving quickly he pulled himself up through the sidelines of the stage where he could watch the Marauders from behind. He was a bit surprised that the band that had played earlier wasn't back here, but then again they were probably fooled by the whole Dark Lord getup as well. He jumped when he felt a hand on his arm.

"Sorry, sorry!" Regulus whispered, backing off. "I just thought you might need this if you're going to do this solo is all."

Severus grasped the wand, reluctantly nodding his head in thanks. He turned back to the stage, making plans on taking out the squat drummer first. It was probably Pettigrew and he'd be an easy target, taking the others off guard.

"You know you don't have to stay here, right?" Severus muttered.

"Yeah, but you'll need help."

"The last time you tried to help, I ended up getting my ass kicked."

Silence. Good now maybe he'd run along and let Severus get down to work. Honestly, he'd seen puppies that were less needy.

"Which is why I've got to have another chance!"

"Look, this isn't the time nor the place to argue about this. You're only going to get in the way. You're too slow of a duelist, and you're too young to know of any decent hexes. Now move your ass or I'll move it for you!"

From the other side of the curtain a curse was blurted out, then a black shadowy figure flew through the air and into the squat drummer in the back. A grin spread over Severus' face as he saw the dark clad creature was actually the lead singer. He rubbed his wand and bit his lip. A stunned and off guard Sirius Black had just landed at his feet. The night just got interesting.

* * *

Sirius couldn't tell where the blast had come from, only that a bright red light had erupted from where Bellatrix had been ogling him. The curse hit him square in the chest and suddenly he was flying through the air. He'd landed with a crunch through the drum set and into a stunned Peter. It took him a moment to stand, but by the time he'd gotten to his feet, Remus and James had already started tossing curses into the direction of the assault. He loved how his buddies always covered for him. They always were his most reliable mates. He pulled out his wand ready to join them, but then got hit with another blast, this time from the side. How the hell had they gotten surrounded?

He landed in a heap on the other side of the backstage. He heard the footsteps running up to him, and knew he had to act quickly. Turning to brace himself, he flew a punch wildly in the general direction of his would-be assailant. When he realized he'd actually hit something, he looked up to find Snape looking just as shocked as he was. The git fell grudgingly to his knees, clutching his gut.

"But – how did you know?" Severus sputtered, gasping for breath. "Dammit, I hate you!"

Sirius grinned, cause he knew Snape meant it. Damn, it was fun to piss this kid off. So Severus here assumed Sirius could ever be knocked off guard, huh? Behind him Sirius could see Regulus looking shocked and although his wand was out, he didn't look like he wanted to use it. Instead he settled for staring nervously in their direction and kept his distance. Good. His little brother at least had the sense to know when he was outmatched. If Snape wasn't so bullheaded, maybe he'd figure it out too someday. His eyes darted to the stage again when he heard a cry, and he knew they'd gotten Remus. Peter was unconscious under the pile of the drum set. That meant James would be next. He kicked Snape's wand aside from where he dropped it, and pulled him to his feet.

"Come on, Snivellus. Time to show your star power!"

"What?" Severus was trying to clutch his gut and pull away from Sirius at the same time. It wasn't very effective. Sirius easily turned him around, looping his arm along the boy's back and underneath his elbows. All he had to do now was lift and Snape would go wherever he wanted.

Snape was struggling, but realized quickly that he wasn't going to get loose. Sirius pulled out his wand and held it to his captive's head. Snape just rolled his eyes and glared at him mockingly, "Really?"

Sirius just grinned, and started moving him toward the stage. Then Snape really started to struggle.

"Damn, it Black, no!"Snape was trying to get free, but Sirius had a strong hold, and whenever Snape seemed close to getting loose he just lifted his arm and heard him wince in pain. It was beautiful. He'd have to thank Moony for letting him watch those wrestling shows when they visited last summer. Slowly the duo moved onto the stage. "Oh come on, you've got to be kidding me," Severus grumbled. James was shooting curses desperately, hiding behind a large table that had somehow been flung up there. Damn, Snape had been distracting him from some fun!

"Hold!" Sirius hissed, pushing his voice up into the high octaves again. He was pretty sure most of the students knew he wasn't the Dark Lord by now, but he needed to keep the gig going until he could get his buddies out of here. And besides, the evil Dark Lord voice was kind of sexy. "If you continue to torment my … Death Eaters, one of your own will be punished!"

He heard a squeal of laughter; damn, was Bella still standing? "Why would we care what happened to him?"

"Cause if you don't… I'll kill him!" Sirius tugged a bit tighter on Snape' arms and felt him tighten up under his grip.

"Oh yeah, that'll be the day," Severus sneered through the pain. "You know nobody believes this. You might as well just shove off and try to save some of your dwindling reputation."

"Shut up, Snape!" Sirius practically spat into his ear. He didn't know how long he could keep them at bay, and stole a glance at James hoping for some kind of direction. Remus and Peter were down, the two of them and Snape were all that was left. James just shrugged and shook his head from behind the overturned table. Great, so much for Jamie's big plan. Well, it looked like Sirius was going to have to save the day alone.

"So… anybody want an encore?" he grinned, and could hear the moan of James beside him. Each of the Slytherins he could spot raised their wands, and Sirius and Severus braced themselves for the inevitable crash into the drum set again. Sirius was almost glad when the doors to the Great Hall slammed open and Dumbledore entered the room. Almost at least. The man was boiling with anger and Sirius took a step back when the Headmaster's eyes fixed on the two of them from behind his half-moon spectacles.

"Shit," Severus breathed. "Let me go, you buffoon!" He started struggling again as Dumbledore snapped his fingers. In an instant the ceiling turned into a clear morning sky, the sun drenching the room in warm sunlight. When had it become morning? Sirius winced, and reluctantly lost his grip on Snape who was determined to get to the back of the stage as quickly as possible.

"Not so fast." Each word Dumbledore spoke betrayed the undercurrents of his anger, and Snape skid to a halt. He certainly wasn't foolish enough to try to ignore a furious headmaster. Dumbledore climbed onto the stage, moving with much more grace than Sirius would have predicted and walked slowly over to the two of them. Dumbledore's eyes were boring holes into his skull and Sirius couldn't bring himself to maintain eye contact. In all his years at Hogwarts, he'd never seen him so livid.

"Don't you like the costume?" Sirius forced a weak grin.

Dumbledore waved his hand and the shadows on the cloak dissipated. He waved it again and Sirius' pale skin darkened to its original shade, and his hair started unraveling out of his scalp as if he'd tied it inside his head for later use. His eyes were brought back to their normal shade, and lost the fake gleam and glow he'd charmed onto them. Once the final transformation was complete Severus was incredulous that he'd ever mistaken him for a true Dark Lord. He was far too short after all.


	9. Cleaning Up

Well this is the last chapter for this piece - but fear not! If you check out my updated profile, you can see a link to some beautiful artwork that was created for this story. I'd put it here, but FFnet strips out any links in stories. And if you're really itching for more Marauders fiction, I've linked to the rest of the Big Bang entries, which all center around at least one of the Marauders. If you like the art or any of the stories you find, I know the authors/artists would really appreciate it if you drop a comment, even anonymously. =)

Hope you all enjoyed this!

Chapter 9: Cleaning Up

Detention. For all of them. The humiliation of it all was almost too much to bear. Severus was now known as the local damsel in distress, and picking his way back to the Slytherin common room he kept getting reminded of his being held captive by the so-called Dark Lord. Lucius was having problems even speaking to Narcissa now. She'd gotten this ridiculous idea that somehow the three of them had indirectly caused the whole incident, which was absolute nonsense. But somewhere in the night Lucius had evidently threatened Rodolphus, who was planning to propose during the dance as well. It certainly helped explain why Bella had been such a pain in the ass all night.

In a mass the Slytherins were heading down the hall away from the Great Hall after Dumbledore declared the festivities to be finished. The night had started with such promise and now he'd be quite satisfied with just a good night's sleep so he could forget the humiliation for a few hours. He looked to his side and saw Lucius had fallen in line next to him, looking perhaps more depressed than he was. Severus looked down at the clutched box in his hand and pursed his lips. So Narcissa hadn't agreed. Or she'd been so distracted by the night's events that she'd forgotten about it, which Severus doubted. She was probably just making his poor friend wait for a response, which was downright torture for such an egomaniac. He thought maybe a change of topic might cheer him up.

"So Lucius, I need your advice."

Lucius didn't say anything, but lifted his head slightly. Good, at least he was paying attention.

"I was working with Regulus earlier, as you recommended I might add, and he told me the strangest thing."

Severus was watching him carefully for any signs that might indicate what he was thinking. Lucius was quite good at hiding his thoughts, but Severus was also good at reading him. He thought he saw his eyes light up for just a moment, but then vanished.

"Lucius… I… I think Regulus was coming on to me…"

Lucius smirked. "Oh you do, do you?"

Severus blinked, "What, you think this is a joke?"

He snickered, "You know, I'm always amazed at your perceptive mind, Severus. Have I told you that? You absolutely astonish me."

"Shut the hell up! I'm serious; he said I smell good."

"Well, do you?"

"Do I what?"

"Smell good? Personally I think you smell like the Potions classroom, but I suppose if Regulus is into that sort of thing…"

"Lucius…" Severus' eyes narrowed. "You knew already, didn't you?"

Lucius shrugged awkwardly, shaking his head at his dark friend, speechless for but a moment. "Look, it's not as though he told me. It was quite obvious really. If you were a bit less obsessed, you would have noticed it too, I'm sure."

"I am not obsessed."

"Oh really?" Lucius grinned that annoying holier than thou grin. It made Severus want to punch him.

"I'm not! I don't even know what you're talking about."

Lucius rolled his eyes and sighed. "You must not have checked in on Lily yet."

Severus stopped dead in his tracks. "Lily…" he breathed. "I didn't see her. She wasn't at the dance – but she told me she would be there! Lucius, you know something I don't. Where is she, you sick bastard!"

His friend was now clutching at his sides he was laughing so hard, "Damn but you're easy. You do realize that, don't you?"

"Don't play your stupid games with me!"

"Oh Severus, calm yourself. She's in the hospital ward. Apparently she was injured in some potions accident that happened shortly before the dance. In fact, she's been there all evening."

Severus spun around ready to barge down to the wing as quickly as his feet would carry him, but Lucius grabbed his arm. "Don't Severus, they won't let you in. Not at this hour, and especially not after the spectacle you made in front of Dumbledore. If you push too many rules and regulations tonight, they really could expel you."

"That wasn't my fault! Black was holding me up there. What was I supposed to-?"

Lucius shook his head, lowering his voice. "Do you really think Dumbledore would let you? You know how he views our House."

Tears were welling in Severus' eyes, but he didn't want Lucius to see them. Instead he shoved past him toward the Slytherin dungeons. He'd known. The entire party his friend knew exactly where she'd been and thought it best to keep it to himself. But then again, if he hadn't assisted Lucius he never would've been able to see that prat Black quake in front of Dumbledore about ready to piss himself. Sometimes you just had to enjoy the little joys in life.

Peter lifted a tentative hand to his aching head and felt the large bald patch where Madam Pomfrey had spread the healing salve. "It's a nasty bump," she'd told him. "But you'll live. Goodness knows you've dealt with worse!" But honestly, a whole week before he was allowed to regrow it? That simply wasn't fair! It had been bad enough that he hadn't gotten any time to flirt with the ladies at the dance, and now this.

"It's alright, Peter," Remus was walking with him back to the Gryffindor Commons. "I'm sure you'll be back to a full head of hair in no time."

Peter smiled weakly. He knew he meant well, but he just didn't think Remus fully understood the situation. Pomfrey had said something about Remus having a broken arm, but Peter knew it was all an act. Since Lily was in the room, they all had to pretend that Remus didn't heal as quickly as he did. It was a silly notion, really – pretending his friend had injuries like a normal person. And now he was pretending he knew what it was like to have a bald spot, or even be wounded! But he kept his mouth closed as they walked. The evening had been disappointing enough without adding to it.

"James is going to be pretty pissed about Lily, isn't he?"

Peter felt his stomach drop, "Yeah, and I bet he'll somehow be mad at us for not letting him know about it."

Remus shook his head, "He's going to have a hard time pinning the blame on us. I mean we aren't the ones who lost his girlfriend!"

"I know," Peter sighed. "But I'm the one that lost the map, remember?"

He grimaced, "Oh yeah, that's right…"

They instinctively got quieter as they passed by the entrance to the Great Hall. The entire room was dark and all the tables looked as though they had been put back in their respective places. In fact it was hard to tell that there had been a dance or a Dark Lord. But then there was slight movement within, and they realized that a few of the Professors had been staying late. Possibly helping with the clean up, making sure there weren't any lagging students, or maybe just gossiping about the evening. Remus and Peter tried to slip by unnoticed, but had to halt when McGonagall called out to them.

"Mister Lupin, Mister Pettigrew, you'd best be heading off to the Common Room. I don't want any lollygagging this evening!"

"We were just on our way there," Remus quipped. Peter nodded nervously. Of all the professors, McGonagall always made him nervous with her quick reactions and suspicious eyes. God, her small squinted eyes were the worst part. It felt like she could see every dirty, disgusting thing you'd ever done.

"Excellent. Oh and Remus," she lowered her head, peering at him from over the tiny spectacles, and clipping her pronunciation. "Professor Dumbledore wanted to see you."

"Oh," Remus laughed nervously. "Oh, of course. It's a bit too late now though, isn't it?"

Minerva shook her head decisively, "Not at all. And you'd best not keep him waiting."

"Yes ma'am." He shared a nervous glance with Peter before heading off in the opposite direction from the Grand Staircase. Peter had to admit, as much as Remus' fake persona frustrated him, he didn't envy a late-night visit to the Headmaster's office. He watched as Remus shuffled out of the entrance hall.

"Mister Pettigrew?"

Peter jumped.

"I certainly hope I don't need to accompany you to the Common Room myself!"

He let out a squeak and rushed up the stairs

Regulus stretched his legs out on the long forest green couch, letting his long legs hang over the edge. Damn, it had been a long night. Lucius was sitting in a loveseat in front of the fireplace staring into the flames. Ironically he was by himself since that was his and Narcissa's favorite make out spot in the Common Room. Regulus thought about bringing up conversation, but stopped short finding it hard to find anything to say. The entire room had been buzzing with energy after the party, several of them went over and apologized to Lucius for the fumbled proposal. Even more were outraged at the obvious beating Regulus had taken at the hands of the heartless Marauders. For a few minutes there he'd been the center of attention, and Regulus ate it up.

But as the night ticked on the students had slowly dispersed into their various rooms for the night, until it was just the two of them. Regulus had tried to catch Severus' eye when he'd come in with Lucius, but he'd practically sprinted up the stairs obviously not in the mood to chat. Or even hear his apology for not helping out. He sighed, staring at the high ceiling above his head, and noticing for the first time the dark silver paneling embossed with tiny silver snakes. Why couldn't his mom have the same excellent taste in décor?

Then he noticed Lucius had turned around in the loveseat, and was staring at him. "Why haven't you gone on up?" His voice sounded almost indignant.

"Uhh, because I hadn't felt like it yet?"

Lucius simply stared at him.

Regulus gulped, this guy was insightful. "Because I wanted to ask you about Severus?"

He sighed, raking a hand through his loosened hair. "That's what I thought. Did you not think it might be better to talk to him yourself? You do sleep just a few doors away."

"Uh," truth be told, he actually hadn't even considered that. He didn't have the guts to face him after he'd just stood there like a complete idiot watching Sirius punch him in the gut. For some reason, he just hadn't moved. It was… it was worse than embarrassing or humiliating. It angered him. "I didn't really think he'd want to talk."

"Mmm, well he might be in the morning," he stood and stretched, his shadow falling upon most of the room. "I'm sure he's asleep by now, so it ought to be safe."

Regulus sighed, getting to his feet. "You're probably right. But I don't think he's going to want to see me again." He went over to put out the fire, but Lucius stopped him.

"Don't worry, I'll get that in a moment. Look, I truly doubt Severus will judge you poorly for not helping him. He does have a heated temper, and is prone to rash, foolish, spur of the moment decisions, but he can be quite amicable when the mood's upon him. I'm sure once he's had time to cool off, he'd sit down and discuss this… situation with you."

"Wait? So he's spoken with you about it?"

Lucius put a hand wearily to his head. "Just go to bed. Look, as prefect I have to make sure everyone's in bed before I can get any sleep, understand? Severus will be fine trust me, he always is."

Regulus sighed and started heading toward the stairway. "You think he likes me?"

"Hmm?"

"Severus – do you think he likes me at all? You all talked earlier. Does he even notice I'm around?"

"Oh, I think he notices you," Lucius grinned, leaning against the mantelpiece. "I think he notices you more than you realize."

Regulus rolled his eyes and ascended the stairs to the boys' quarters. He wondered why Lucius had to always be so bloody cryptic. It's as though he refused to give a straight answer. As he pulled the door closed behind him, he suddenly had a thought. He pressed his ear against it and waited. After a few minutes he heard the door for the girls' quarters open and close quietly. He waited a few minutes more until he thought he could chance opening the door just a crack, just to prove his suspicions.

At the foot of the stairs, Lucius and Narcissa were in a tight embrace, and the emerald engagement ring shone on her left hand. Regulus just chuckled to himself, shaking his head. He supposed if he ought to take anyone's relationship advice, it might as well be from Lucius. It looked like he was pretty good at ensnaring the people he desired.

Remus sat patiently in the hall next to the giant golden phoenix entrance he knew all too well. The hallway was completely dark and even the portraits were slumbering soundlessly. The place seemed a lot less inviting than it did during the day. He couldn't help but worry as to what Dumbledore was planning. They'd already been doled out their punishment for the acts, detention for two weeks for causing chaos and confusion during a school function. What more did he want to say? And why only say it to Remus?

In all honesty detention wouldn't really be that bad. In essence it meant the four Marauders would be staying in McGonagall's office for two weeks to sort through old papers. Last time it had actually been lots of fun because it gave them access to all of her Transfiguration books when she wasn't around. Sirius had spent most of his time trying out different spells on an unwilling Peter. And poor Peter, though he had thought it amusing at first, had quickly grown tired of the fun.

Remus nearly jumped when the golden phoenix lowered itself to reveal the tiny stairwell. He took a deep breath, then started up the stairs. The refreshingly cozy and quirky headmaster's office greeted him; a roaring fire waited in the hearth and the various candles situated throughout the room gave just enough light to give it a mysterious touch. Then he saw Professor Dumbledore behind the desk.

His fingers were steepled, and his gaze was unreadable though he did motion for Remus to sit opposite him. He sighed, his long silver beard lifting and lowering on his chest. "Lemon drop?"

"Um, no thank you," Remus whispered. Dumbledore wasn't smiling; there was no cheer in his voice. It was the same tone he'd used in the Great Hall earlier, if at a lower volume. Whatever the reason Remus had been summoned was serious indeed. He felt his hands start to shake but held himself firm.

Dumbledore began pacing back and forth behind his desk, his footfalls muffled by the thick ruby carpet at his feet. Behind him, Fawkes' eyes cracked slightly as though also curious as to how this punishment would go. Remus tried to steal himself for the worst. Detention? Suspension? Even expulsion? He knew Dumbledore was taking a risk keeping a werewolf at Hogwarts, even finding a secure shack for his monthly transformations. Had tonight's prank been the final straw? He couldn't imagine being told to leave Hogwarts and his friends forever. They'd come to rely on each other so much over the years. They were the only ones who truly accepted him for who and what he was. Even his own family tended to distance themselves from him due to his condition.

"Mr. Lupin, I know I could ask you a great many questions about this evening. But I also know your answers wouldn't have a shred of honesty to them."

Remus grimaced. The headmaster was not pulling punches tonight. Sirius' Dark Lord getup really must have hit a nerve.

Dumbledore continued pacing, not looking at him. "You're very good at getting your friends out of trouble, and for that I must commend you. It demonstrates much bravery to come to a headmaster and outwardly lie, though I know you do it. Frequently."

Remus shifted uncomfortably in his seat as the Headmaster circled him. He clenched his hands together to keep them from noticeably shaking.

Dumbledore sighed, placing his hands on the back of Remus' chair. "I know I tend to hold you to higher standards than the other students. But I stand firm in believing that you can achieve those standards."

Remus bit his lip, steeling himself for wherever this was leading.

"Throughout all your years with us you have excelled in academics," Dumbledore walked over to look at his table of golden metallic objects. The gears twirled and the seesaw-like contraptions moved up and down endlessly. "You've impressed almost every one of your professors, and I was pleasantly surprised by how well you've excelled in these classes since coming to Hogwarts."

He turned to face Remus directly. "However, the company you keep, the friends you've made… Remus they're quite the troublemakers and I'm not sure if you want to head where they're going. Their futures are bound to be dangerous, and you may wish to keep your distance." Dumbledore saw the words of dissent on Remus' lips, and continued quickly. "As much as you like each of them, you must keep your own future in mind. You're not as well off as they are, and you must remember that incidents like this may hold you back once you've graduated."

Remus' mouth was still open in protest, but he knew Dumbledore's meaning. James, Sirius, and even Peter had a chance of making something of themselves either through family relation, wealth, or by simply being an average sort of wizard. But, despite whatever his parents had or what he did, Remus knew his lycanthropy would always hold him back. Once he graduated and was really looking for work, disciplinary issues from school might reflect worse on him than on any of the other Marauders. It wasn't funny when a werewolf was involved, no matter what Sirius and James said. Sometimes it was difficult to remember that.

But the headmaster wasn't finished. "Any mention of you associating with a Dark Lord, even as a light-hearted Halloween prank, could have serious ramifications."

Remus felt the tears well up in his eyes, but he fought them back. An entire night of running around with Sirius and the others, and he had never seen it in this light. They were just wearing costumes, not really joining a band of dark wizards. But as he imagined trying to explain that to his father, or worse to a group of Aurors, he knew exactly how they'd see it.

"Now Remus, please tell me, my boy." He leaned over the desk toward him, but Remus couldn't bring himself to meet his gaze. "What exactly happened tonight? Where did Sirius retrieve the costume and why on earth did they decide to pull this prank?"

Remus gritted his teeth. He knew this trick, this play on emotions. He was trying to shake his calm demeanor, make him crack under pressure. Interrogators in the muggle world did it all the time, if the detective books he read were any indication.

"I'm afraid I can't answer that, Headmaster."

"That particular cloak looked very familiar to me. Perhaps it was once used when Grindelwald was in power?"

Remus kept his mouth closed, and simply shook his head.

"Remus…" Dumbledore sighed. "The truth shouldn't be a difficult thing to give me."

He bit his lip. "Well then you obviously don't understand my position here!"

"Oh I completely understand your position. Likely better than you do. You simply have to think of your future."

He stood up quickly, turning on Dumbledore with fiery determination. "Even if I can't find work after I graduate, I don't care. I'd rather have all my friends and be penniless than have all the money in the world and no one there with me."

Dumbledore backed off slightly, nodding in agreement though Remus could swear he saw the faint flicker of a smile. "I thought you'd say as much." He sighed and went back to his high backed chair, "Well, I might as well try to get the truth out of you occasionally. Now run along."

Remus narrowed his eyes. Why was Dumbledore backing off so suddenly? Nonetheless he wasn't going to turn down the unexpected dismissal. He nodded stiffly and turned to head toward the door. His eyes were stinging but he was glad to see the golden phoenix was already lowering for him.

"And Remus? Just know that I'm proud of you."

Remus chuckled, shaking his head in disbelief. That man could be so damn confusing. One minute he was as sweet as the candies he offered you, the next he was unearthing emotions you never wanted to feel again. Remus took the Grand Staircase two steps at a time, not needing a Lumos charm to find his way quite easily. He considered waking the others, talking it out with Sirius and James. Even Peter would be a welcome ear right now. But honestly, they would probably just say Dumbledore was riled tonight. In a few days they'd just figure he was in a mood, but they'd remember what Remus said. And they'd remember that he wasn't like them, that he was a true monster deep down. Every day he tried to be normal, just like all the other students. Why did Dumbledore keep reminding him that he wasn't?

As Remus stormed out of the room, Albus pulled out the leather-bound notebook from his desk. He pushed his chair back so that he could stroke Fawkes' head with one hand as he flipped through the pages with the other.

"He wasn't bad, was he my friend?"

He stopped at a page with the word Phoenix scripted at the top, and hovered his pen over the names, stopping next to Remus Lupin's.

"Yes, I think in a few years he'll work out just fine."

Fawkes lifted his head so his friend could scratch that pesky spot beneath his beak. Albus placed a small check next to the name and wondered who the next candidate would be and how long he should wait before calling for an appointment. As upsetting as the evening had been, Albus had to admit that it would be a very useful tool as he tested his other unsuspecting applicants.

-Fin-


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